Salt Lake City's the King's English, one of the best-known independent bookstores in the country, celebrated its 30th birthday in September, one indication of the health of Utah's book scene. Owner Betsy Burton noted that Salt Lake has a thriving intellectual community that revolves around the University of Utah.
And Salt Lake is a good barometer for the state as a whole, since that greater metropolitan area claims around 80% of the state's residents. Also known as the Wasatch Front, greater Salt Lake is a narrow chain of towns in the north-center of the state, stretching 80 miles from Ogden in the north to Provo in the south. The rest of Utah is mostly rural or uninhabited wilderness, making Utah's overall population the sixth most urbanized in the country.
For King's English, located in a suburban Salt Lake neighborhood, it hasn't always been easy. In the '90s, the store struggled to cope with the arrival of chains; five or six independents went out of business during that time. Business is now good, which Burton credits to a six-business alliance, Vest Pocket, she helped create in the late '90s that aimed to improve the relationship between independent businesses and local government. It now has 200 members. Burton started a new organization two years ago called Local First Utah, which is going statewide rapidly. “The fact that we got 1,300 members in two years says the landscape of Utah is profoundly changing in terms of how people view chains,” Burton said.
There are 10 B&Ns and five Borders (including two Waldenbooks) in Utah. But Burton now views Amazon as her main competition.
For Sam Weller's, a downtown fixture in its third generation of family ownership, the chief struggle hasn't been the influence of chains, but the decline of the neighborhood around the store. Owner Tony Weller said downtown Salt Lake has been “decimated” by real estate speculation, starting in the mid-'80s. The problem has worsened in the last 20 years with the continuing growth of malls and big-box stores. Now surrounded by vacant property, this behemoth of Salt Lake bookselling, with 40,000 square feet of new, used and rare books, has become the de facto anchor of downtown.
Weller maintained that chains in Salt Lake have cannibalized each other. “The first two chains to hit the city took a big bite out of our business, but subsequent openings had little effect,” he said. So Weller is staying put. Like Burton, he has kept up a constant dialogue with city government, and he believes Salt Lake is on the cusp of a downtown renaissance. Many old buildings are now being redone as condos, and new construction is taking place in this historically commercial district.
In Southern Utah, a strong Mormon-based region with many small, rural, conservative communities, the liberal enclave of Moab is an exception. This growing resort community of 6,000 draws many climbing, rafting and mountain-biking enthusiasts. And its residents like to read—Amazon is the #1 shipper into town, which can make business tough for the town's independent, Arches Book Company. Locals also drive to booming Grand Junction, Colo., an hour away, for major errands—including stops at Borders and B&N. Arches survives in part because of the many visitors to the numerous national parks nearby, said owner Andy Nettell, who is a former National Park Service ranger. Nettell also acquired the environmentally oriented, regional bookstore across the street, Back of Beyond. He said it's tourists who keep both stores afloat.
In ski town Park City, business is even more dependent on the seasons and tourism. Sue Fassett, manager of longstanding bookstore Dolly's, said the store wouldn't exist without winter tourists. Events happen mostly in winter, and, of course, during the Sundance Film Festival, when signings will happen around any book related to a movie being premiered.
Bookselling Health IndexHousehold Income: $46,873Population: 2,389,000Independent Bookstores: 34Chain Bookstores: 18Total Bookstores: 52Big-box Stores: 57Total Stores: 109Stores per Capita: 1 per 21,917Per Capita Rank: 20
