They take their bookstores seriously in Greenwich, Conn. So seriously that when Just Books—an endearingly cramped and dusty half-century-old independent bookstore that routinely attracted A-list authors to its events—came on the block, some of the community's residents were willing to put their checkbooks into preserving the tradition.
number of us in and around Greenwich thought,"When we heard that Warren Cassell was preparing to sell Just Books, a 'we'd hate to see this bookstore go away.' It was a great community asset and we were prepared to put together an offer to Warren," said Public Affairs publisher Peter Osnos, who lives in Greenwich.
Osnos and his team deferred when another buyer, Jenny Lawton, stepped up. Lawton, a high-tech executive looking for a more family-friendly career in the wake of 9/11, was a newcomer to the book business and an unlikely pick to succeed an old school bookseller with connections throughout the industry. Her challenge: to drag the store into the 21st century, without losing the quirky charm and literary passion that made Just Books, in business since 1949, a favorite of customers and publishers.
As the second anniversary of the sale approaches next month, Lawton, by all accounts, is succeeding. She's moved the store to a larger location and opened a second store, Just Books, Too, five miles away. But many of the traditions that defined Just Books continue. The breakfast speaker series, held at a nearby hotel, still features the biggest names with books to hawk. Henry Kissinger, Barbara Bush and Madeline Albright are among its recent guests. "I think if I took away the events, people would really flip out," Lawton said.
The series has always been key to Just Books' reputation. Lawton promotes it though her newsletter—she mails 3,000 copies and e-mails 1,500 more—and uses the events to market the store. At the Albright breakfast in November, Lawton stood in front of the sold-out, 700-person crowd and read off a long list of upcoming bookstore events before the author made her entrance.
Lawton, mindful of the skepticism that comes with change, has also taken care to preserve the store's other characteristics, such as the back-door entrance and a focus on personal attention. "One of the things that Warren impressed on me was that you have to know each person who comes in, you have to know what they're buying, what they like," she said. Lawton maintains that listening well is the key to selling books—or anything else.
But even old-fashioned service can use a little help from modern technology. Within weeks of buying the store, Lawton installed an inventory management system that prints out the names of books on receipts, enabling her to keep track of what people are buying.
Tradition, with Some Breathing Room
So there have been changes, including the opening of the second store in June 2002, in the community known as Old Greenwich. The new location, next to a café with plenty of foot traffic, came on the market while Lawton was still learning how to be a bookseller. "It was a year too early, but it was too good to pass up," said Lawton, revealing the entrepreneurial instinct with which she built a 50-person technology-consulting firm in the 1990s.
In July 2003, she moved the first store a few doors up the street, to a space that is slightly larger and in much better repair than the original. "That place was falling apart and it was going to cost a lot to fix," Lawton explained.
Neither of her stores is large. But both are bright, well-organized and conducive to browsing. And at about 1,000-sq.-ft. each, they're spacious, compared with the original 600-sq.-ft. space. The old location barely had room for customers; the new ones are big enough to hold author events. Toni Morrison, R.L. Stine and Holly Hobbie are among those who have come in to read. "One of my favorite things is to get kids in to meet the authors because it creates readers," she said.
The community seems to approve. "Warren's store was a tradition, and respected as a place where you could buy, or at least order, good books," said Osnos. "But I don't think anybody would suggest it wasn't time for a spruce-up. The place was really the size of a couple of phone booths."
Roxanne Coady, owner of another well-known Connecticut bookstore, R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, praises Lawton's quick grasp of the industry and her handling of the business. "I think it's what had to happen," Coady said. "She did the right thing. It is a little less quirky, maybe. But it will have Jenny's personality, which people will respond to. I'm thrilled that there are people like her—smart, experienced business people—wanting to coming into the book business."
A 'Wacky Idea' That Worked
Getting into the book business was hardly Lawton's lifelong dream. In 1999, she sold her consulting company to a conglomerate, Interliant. She spent the next few years working for Interliant, then for Softbank Venture Capital. But a grueling schedule of overseas travel left her little time at home with her husband, Thomas, and their two sons. And then, "September 11 was pretty impactful for someone who travels six days a week," she said. "It made me not want to do what I was doing."
Looking for a career change, Lawton saw a newspaper ad for a bookstore. She'd always loved to read books, though she hadn't a clue about selling them. "I knew it was a business I could engage with, but it was kind of a wacky idea when you look back on it," Lawton told PW.
Now, instead of shuttling back and forth over the Atlantic Ocean, she splits her time between her two Connecticut stores. Instead of having her days choreographed by an executive assistant, she keeps her own schedule. She works hard, but without the constant pressure. "My cell phone has been broken for a week," she says. "And I don't think anybody noticed."
Still, Lawton gives the impression of someone hardwired for challenge, not contentment. She hints at non-bookstore projects she's considering. And though she has rejected the idea of opening a third bookstore, she gave it a lot of thought. Even now, Lawton said, she finds herself driving through towns thinking, "they could use an independent bookstore."
