New bookstores open all the time. But how three young stay-at-home mothers became booksellers is a unique story. In fact, Tuesday Books just might be a model for how to both run a family-friendly enterprise and collaborate with individuals and other local businesses for mutual benefit.
On Tuesday, May 11, Beth Phelps, Therese Grossman and Justine Dailey opened Tuesday Books in Williamston, Mich., a suburb of Lansing. Michigan's newest bookstore is a general, full-service bookstore, with 1,000 square feet of retail space containing 12,200 titles, and a 200-square-foot space for events.
This past January, Marci Russell, owner of Cornerstone Books, an independent bookstore in Williamston, announced she was closing down the bookstore and moving to California. Phelps, Grossman and Dailey, three friends who spent much of their free time at Cornerstone, were devastated.
"It was too much to lose not only a local bookstore, but our hangout; we couldn't let it happen. We spent enough time there anyway, we thought, we may as well just buy the bookstore," Phelps recalled.
Although the three had no prior bookselling experience, they had a vision that sustained them as they bought Cornerstone's inventory and fixtures. "We visited Aria Booksellers in Howell [Mich.]," Grossman told PW. "We saw what Mary Ellen Ahmad has done there. We knew that was the kind of ambiance we wanted. We wanted the same kind of bookstore, a place where you come in, and we know your name."
The trio opened their new bookstore at the same location as Cornerstone on April 1. They quickly decided to close the store, attend the Paz & Associates school for prospective booksellers that month, and then move the store to a more central location by May 1.
"We have the love of books, but the attention to detail Donna Paz teaches you regarding inventory management, budgeting and marketing is essential," Grossman said. "We learned so much. All the bookstores we've seen that look cool—the booksellers had gone to Donna's school."
On May 11, Tuesday Books re-opened its doors, this time next door to a coffeehouse on Williamston's main street. Like Tuesday Books, Capuccino Expresso is operated by three women with young children.
The proprietors of Tuesday Books and Capuccino Expresso devised a plan to entice people into the bookstore. Capuccino Expresso closes at 3 p.m. each day. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Tuesday Books sells coffee and pastries brought over to the bookstore from the coffeehouse after its afternoon closing.
The three booksellers not only partner with one another in staffing the store, but they supervise each other's kids. Each co-owner's weekly schedule includes three days off, two days of working in the store and two days babysitting the trio's six children (ages 4—7).
"We wanted a family bookstore: family-owned, family-operated, family-created and, of course, family-friendly in every way," Grossman told PW.
