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Date: 3/2/2022
NORTHAMPTON – The constant ebbs and flows of the coronavirus pandemic continues to dictate one of the ficklest periods in our modern global history, especially for local businesses.
Some places have had to close due to a country-wide economic downturn, while many businesses are adjusting to the altered “new normal.”
For independent bookstores, which typically rely heavily on in-person interaction and community-building, the landscape can especially be challenging when they already have to compete with big box retailers and online corporations like Amazon.
Despite these seemingly dire circumstances, a couple of local bookstores in Northampton are proceeding the best they can under veteran leadership and resilience.
Booklink Booksellers, which has been in business for over 30 years according to their website, is keeping a stable customer base in their shop on 150 Main St., inside Thornes Marketplace.
Peg Duffy, the manager of Booklink, told Reminder Publishing that owner Gabriel Moushabeck has been doing a “wonderful” job in keeping Booklink afloat throughout the past two years.
When the business had to close during the initial onset of the pandemic, Duffy said that many days were spent on the phone adjusting the business blueprint. “At the very beginning of the pandemic, when we were locked out of the building, we couldn’t even get in, so curbside wasn’t an option for us,” said Duffy.
The shop was able to update their website and partner Bookshop.org, which is an online marketplace that supports bookstores through online sales with commissions that go directly back into local stores. “People can buy from us, and Bookshop sends the books from their warehouse, so it meant we were able to make a little bit of money even though we weren’t able to be in store,” said Duffy. “Our customers found us there, which is thrilling. There’s really no reason to buy a book on Amazon anymore.”
According to Duffy, Bookshop also donates to the Bank Charitable Foundation, which helps book sellers and staff with expenses like rent and grocery money.
When Booklink reopened at the end of 2020, they were able to offer curbside and prepare for an off-kilter holiday shopping season. “I can’t say enough about our regular customers,” said Duffy, adding that there will be some people who take long drives to load up on books or greeting cards. “It’s people like that … that is why we’re still here.”
Duffy added that the shop is always staying optimistic and taking it one day at a time. Thankfully, they were able to cover payroll by using a couple of federal loans, and they currently carry five people on staff. “We’re a very small staff, but it enables us to be tight-knit,” added Duffy.
Raven Used Books, meanwhile, has similarly been staying optimistic about the future outlook of their store and other places across the area, despite a difficult situation. The shop, which is located on 4 Old South St., continues to be a Northampton staple almost 30 years into its existence, specializing in an endless list of used academic and scholarly titles, as well as a host of other genres and subjects.
Much like many other small businesses, Raven was forced to close in mid-March of 2020 when the first wave of the pandemic began to wreak havoc. After a couple of months of no in-person activity, owner and founder Betsy Frederick reopened the shop with added safety measures and different hours in June of 2020.
With a staff of six, Frederick told Reminder Publishing that Raven is “holding up” while dealing with the constant ebbs and flows of the pandemic, but certain moments have been tough over the past two years because the business had to spend quite a bit on masks and sanitizers.
To keep customers safe during the worst of peaks, Frederick made sure people were not hanging around for too long. “We had to pull sitting and reading,” said Frederick. “That was tough, because you wanted people to stay a long time.”
Prior to the pandemic, Frederick said that downtown Northampton would be a viable destination to discover the many restaurants, hit a few bars, and explore the nooks and crannies of Main Street and beyond. While that still happens today, Frederick noted how the foot traffic “is not how it used to be” since most of the restaurant industry was forced to pivot to a takeout and curbside options, while some places had to cut hours due to labor shortages. Without a larger crowd of tourists, it has become tougher for smaller businesses to return to pre-pandemic levels of business.
Despite the unheralded circumstances, Frederick, much like Duffy, is optimistic about the future of Raven due to their established customer base and people’s general disinterest in staying on Zoom for so long. After a decent summer in 2021, Frederick anticipates that 2022 will be a lot better.
“I’m hopeful for next summer … I think we’ll bounce back,” said Frederick. “I think the industry will be okay. People are sick of looking at screens, they want to read books. But I think overall, the future is good.”
“I feel hopeful,” said Duffy. “I think what we saw during the pandemic were, not enough, but more people making an effort to keep it local…We’re used to everybody telling us that we’re hanging on with our fingernails, but you just take it on day at a time…I think we’re going to stay optimistic.”
People can visit Raven’s website at https://ravenusedbooks.com/shop/, and Booklink’s website at https://bookshop.org/shop/booklinkbooks.
Reminder Publishing also reached out to Gabriel Books and Broadside for the story. The former could not be reached for comment, and the latter declined due to a lack of availability.