This spring Hoboken, N.J., will get its first general independent bookstore in over a decade, when Little City Books opens on May 2, Independent Bookstore Day.
Singer/songwriter Kate Jacobs had talked with Donna Garban, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, for years about opening a store in the New Jersey town. But it wasn’t until the pair met Stonesong literary agent Emmanuelle Morgen, last year, that their plans came together.
The new indie bookstore will fill a void left by Backwater Books, which closed in 1990's. A Barnes & Noble in Hoboken also closed its doors, after a 15-year run, in 2010.
“We started to look at spaces, then we found a lovely 1,200 sq. ft. storefront on a corner with wrap-around windows. We felt it was providence,” Jacobs said. “Our real challenge is to see how, between three of us, we can run it. I’m hoping to glean a lot of information at Winter Institute.”
Although the three women lead busy lives outside the bookstore, Jacobs isn’t worried. “Obviously we have a certain we’ll-make-it-work attitude,” she told PW.
Having just found shelving, the trio are now getting ready to order their opening inventory. Jacobs is looking forward to sharing her favorite music books with customers. And she knows the store will have a large children’s section, including YA, which Morgen agents. But they owners are also planning to listen to their customers about what to stock. “Having spent so many years making records, my big question,” Jacobs noted, “is what the audience will like.”
Like many startups, Little City Books plans to launch an Indiegogo campaign to pay for building out the space. “As Donna says, ‘If everybody in Hoboken buys one book a year, we’ll be fine,’” Jacobs said.
For more information, contact Jacobs.
