Mar 20, 2015
All the stores we surveyed this year are doing well. One factor in their success is that several of their owners have previous experience. Naomi Chamblin, co-owner of Napa Bookmine, in Napa, Calif., brings many years of experience to her new venture. She honed her bookselling chops at the largest used bookstore (55,000 sq. ft.) in northeast Florida: Jacksonville’s Chamblin Bookmine, which was founded by her father, Ron Chamblin. Brian Lampkin, majority owner of Scuppernong Books, in Greensboro, N.C., is also an experienced bookseller. He founded Rust Belt Books in Buffalo, N.Y., which he sold before heading south.
Although the economics of operating an independent bookstore have improved since the end of the Great Recession, running a new store still poses challenges. For the past few years, PW has checked in annually with half a dozen bookstores from across the country that have been open for two years or less to see how they’re faring.
