ST. PAUL -- Across Minnesota and the nation, new and more diverse independent bookstores have been popping up. In fact, for every independent bookstore that has closed since 2020, more than three new ones have opened, according to the American Booksellers Association.
It鈥檚 part of a continuing trend jump started by the pandemic, and each of these bookstores has a story of its own.
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When Josh Hames saw the storefront up for lease in West St. Paul, he knew it was perfect for a bookstore. It was late at night, and the lights on the side of the building illuminated the old brick building. He could see the tall ceilings through the windows.
鈥淚t looked like the cover to 鈥楴eedful Things鈥� by Stephen King a little bit,鈥� he said.
Hames, 30, opened Other Skies Weird Fiction in 2022, just in time for his favorite holiday: Halloween. The store sells high-quality editions of horror, sci-fi and imaginative fiction. Hames has been collecting these genres since he was 14, but the pandemic shutdown really clarified that passion.
鈥淲e all had time to reflect on, what are the things that we really, really like to do when we go out? And for me I found that, even before the pandemic, I would always spend all my time looking for books, at Goodwill, thrift shops, estate sales. I was always out there buying books, and I thought, man, that's really important, I want to be a part of that,鈥� he said.
It turns out, others do, too, and Hames said he鈥檚 been blown away by the community of readers who share his interest.
A couple hundred miles to the northwest, in Detroit Lakes, Minn., Amy Erickson was feeling the lack of a bookstore in her town. The closest one was about a half-hour away, ever since the local Book World closed.
鈥淎nd when they closed, I said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know that I can live in a town without a bookstore.鈥� It just felt wrong somehow,鈥� Erickson said.
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Erickson was a 49-year-old stay-at-home mother of three. When the pandemic hit and her husband suddenly stopped traveling for work, they had some big family discussions.
鈥淎nd I said, you know, if I don鈥檛 do this by the time I鈥檓 50, I鈥檓 probably never going to do it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to live knowing that there was something that I wanted to do and I could do and I just didn鈥檛 do it.鈥�
In May 2022, she took a leap of faith and launched Bluebird Books. It鈥檚 a family affair: Her three teenage kids are now all old enough to work in the store, along with some of their friends.
鈥淚 love being surrounded by books all the time,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y favorite thing in the world is when someone walks back into the bookstore and says, 鈥榊ou recommended that book to me, and I absolutely loved it. What else? What other recommendations do you have?鈥� That makes my heart happy.鈥�
Bluebird Books and Other Skies Weird Fiction are two of the 15 new independent bookstores that have opened in Minnesota since March 2020. That鈥檚 a big rise, and it鈥檚 in line with a regional and national trend.
Carrie Obry is the executive director of the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. She credits the rise in part to Bookshop.org, the website that lets people buy books online and shares the profit with indie bookstores. She says having that online platform has democratized the bookselling industry.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just a whole new influx of wonderful much-needed energy and diversity coming through our ranks of bookstore owners,鈥� Obry said.
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There are challenges, of course, for any bookstore: competition for customers鈥� time and attention, accelerating rent rates in an industry prone to low wages and supply chain issues.
Former educator Mary Taris never expected to open a bookstore. When she got fed up with not seeing enough great children鈥檚 books by authors of color, she started Strive Publishing in 2018.
She quickly found the need was far greater than a one-woman publisher could address. After the murder of George Floyd, Taris said Strive publishing was flooded with people wanting to write their own stories.
鈥淭he civil unrest was a huge contributing factor in me kind of doubling down on my mission to elevate Black voices,鈥� Taris said.
She looked for partnerships, and she found space in the IDS building in downtown Minneapolis, tucked among other retailers in the Black-woman owned Sistah Co-op. The tiny Strive Bookstore struggled for foot traffic following its opening in the fall of 2021, but still, Taris saw an impact.
鈥淲hen Black people come in, they鈥檙e like, 鈥榃ow, this is for us,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd I even get more people who are inspired to write, you know, when they come into the bookstore, and just, it kind of feels like, the more I can do in the book space, the more our mission can come alive.鈥�
Working with the Minneapolis Downtown Council, she鈥檚 about to open a second location in the historic Young Quinlan Building on Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was Saturday, June 2.
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The 4,000-square-foot space has gotten some pre-opening customer praise:
鈥溾�極h, wow, this is so beautiful!鈥� That鈥檚 what I hear,鈥� she said.
Taris can鈥檛 wait to use the space to celebrate authors and cross-cultural communication.
Because whatever the path they take to get there, for booksellers, there鈥檚 no better feeling than getting the right book into a reader鈥檚 hands.
New independent bookstores in Minnesota
Here鈥檚 a look at some of the newer independent bookstores in the state.
Black Garnet Books
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St. Paul
1319 University Ave. W
Open Tuesdays through Fridays noon to 6 p.m., Saturdays noon to 5 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays
Chapter One
Victoria
7924 Victoria Dr.
Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; closed Mondays
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Twinflower Books
Center City
280 Andrews Ave.
Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with additional popup hours and locations
Four Pines Bookstore
Bemidji
102 Third St. NW
Open Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sundays
Garden Party Books
Rochester
602 Seventh St. NW
Open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Strive Bookstore
Minneapolis (two locations)
3801 N 27th Ave.
80 South Eighth St., IDS Center skyway, Suite 254 in the Sistah Co-op
Open Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., first and third Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Chapter Two
Redwood Falls
120 E Second St.
Open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Sundays
The Thinking Spot
Wayzata
3311 County Rd. 101 No. 4
Open Wednesdays through Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays noon to 6 p.m., closed Mondays
Lionseed Bookstore & Learning Commons
Battle Lake
102 Summit St. W
In May, open Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bluebird Books
Detroit Lakes
813 Washington Ave.
Open Mondays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m.
Comma, a bookshop
Minneapolis
4250 Upton Ave. S
Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays through Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays
Wildflower Bookshop
Grand Rapids
4 NE 3rd Ave.
Open Tuesdays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays
NP Junction Books
Carlton
(No address, hours listed)
More Than Words
Moorhead
40 Fourth St. N
Grand opening this summer, hours TBA
Zumbrota Literary Society
Zumbrota
320 East Ave.
Open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Additional and holiday hours may vary for stores.
The Trust Project
