Micawber's Bookstore, a fixture in the St. Anthony Park section of St. Paul, Minn., since 1972, is changing hands. When it opens under new ownership on August 1, it will feature fresh inventory but will retain its neighborhood feel, according to Tom Bielenberg, who, along with Hans Weyandt, purchased the store from founder Norton Stillman.
Stillman is retiring to travel more and focus on his publishing business, Nodin Press, which, since its inception in 1967, has built a list of more than 100 regional titles and currently publishes about five new books a year. "I've had the store for 31 years, so the decision was kind of difficult for me," said Stillman. "I did enjoy the store a lot. And I wanted to stay in publishing because I love it."
Stillman sought buyers who would maintain the business as a bookstore, which was something his regular customers, with whom he had formed close relationships over the years, had requested. "I've always tried for a feeling of warmth and comfort in the store," said Stillman, who added, "It's sort of old-fashioned."
Bielenberg and Weyandt intend to maintain the shop's neighborhood character and name. "We think it has an identity with the neighborhood, and we want to keep that," Bielenberg said. "Our approach is to think of it first as a neighborhood bookstore." While the partners hope to eventually draw customers from beyond the area, "we're really emphasizing the neighborhood bookstore aspect."
Inventory, which Bielenberg estimated will approach 10,000 books, will be a mix of new and used titles, commingled on shelves, as well as remainders. It will reflect the co-owners' interests and those of the customers who live near the store, which will close for a month during the transition. "We're both fiction and poetry buffs, and that will come through in the selection," Bielenberg predicted. "But we want to listen to the neighborhood." He reported that the area has an active garden club, so gardening books are likely to do well. The partners plan to add more magazines to draw residents in, and will expand one of the 1,600-square-foot shop's past strengths, its children's section. "Children's books have done very well here," said Bielenberg. "We'll continue that and enlarge it."
Bielenberg, who has 27 years' experience at St. Paul independent Ruminator Books (formerly Hungry Mind), and Weyandt, who worked at Ruminator for four years, are the shop's entire staff. They plan to gradually introduce events and readings, with some events possibly held in conjunction with the public library down the street.
Bielenberg noted that the primarily residential neighborhood has a commercial base consisting of a restaurant, coffee shop and several retail stores and is near a campus of the University of Minnesota. "It's rare to find an opportunity like that," he said. "It was one of the attractions of buying the store."
