Jennifer and Willow Garman hanging out at Inkwell on Feb. 22. (Davis Steen)
“I’ll come here a lot,” Willow Gorman said as she sat on the couch of the newly opened Inkwell Booksellers Company. Gorman was attending the grand opening of the independent bookstore on Feb. 22.
Elizabeth Foster is the owner, though she doesn’t want to be addressed that way. “I am the proprietor, not owner.” It’s a part of her personality that is prevalent throughout the store.
What does it take to open a bookstore?
“I had a lot of support,” Foster said. Inkwell is a bookstore and coffee shop which complement each other.
“The bookstore was the most important part,” Foster said. “We added a coffee shop with the help of my community.”
While the community is at the center of the store — there is a 10-person table right in the middle of it — Foster ensures that the Northeast Minneapolis area, and anyone else, will be welcomed in the store.
“I want it to be an oasis for those coming in,” Foster said.
Why Northeast Minneapolis?
“You can do pretty much everything in one spot,” Foster said. She was referring to the grocery store across the street and the surrounding businesses in the Marcy-Holmes, Nicollet Island and St. Anthony East neighborhoods.
The closest bookstore to Northeast Minneapolis that specializes in new books is the Barnes and Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. “There was a big gap, especially for independent booksellers in the area.”
The turnout for the grand opening proved that Foster’s idea of filling that gap in the area was a good one.
Bookstores on the rise again?
Wordsrated.com reported in 2012 the US had 16,819 bookstores. That number fell to 10,800 in 2020. A Gallup poll in 2021 found that US adults are reading two or three fewer books per year than they did between 2001 and 2016.
Borders Bookstores closing can be accounted for a majority of the change in the number of bookstores; they closed 226 stores after their bankruptcy in 2011.
While national bookstore chains may be dying, independent bookstores appear to be filling the void left by these giants.
The American Booksellers Association (ABA), a member-based nonprofit supporting independent bookstores, increased to 2,433 registered members in 2023, 200 more than the year prior. ABA also reported 190 stores set to open in the next few years.
“A bookstore builds community,” Jennifer Garman said while holding a book at Inkwell. “This means everything. Our family loves to read.”
The current state of bookstores
In the middle of February, a water main burst, flooding Paperback Exchange in South Minneapolis, effectively destroying the building and over 100,000 books. An online fundraiser for the store has almost surpassed its $55,000 GoFundMe goal as of this writing.
Eat My Words Bookstore found itself in a different kind of water only 2½ years into its tenure. “The rent at the old place had spiked and I couldn’t afford it,” said the owner, Scott VanKoughnett. He has been in business for the past 11 years; 8½ in his current location on 13th Avenue NE.
“It was a dream of mine,” VanKoughnett said while sipping coffee next to a partially finished puzzle in his store.
Eat My Words specializes in used books. “I don’t have to worry about publishers,”
VanKoughnett joked.
Eat My Words’ current location used to be a gift shop that was infrequently open. “I worked it out with the owner to sell his pottery and I get the rest of the store,” VanKoughnett said. The front corner of the store is devoted to ceramics, the mugs and bowls are made just behind the store.
VanKoughnett often hosts author readings, and he maintains a special section of books by local authors.
Bookstores and their personalities
A bookstore sells stories, and people seek out stories that fit their personality.
VanKoughnett’s bookstore is maze-like when you’re perusing the aisles of used books. “I do that on purpose, so no one gets trapped. There’s always another direction to go.” The book maze will find Richard Nixon next to RoboCop. It works well for VanKoughnett and his store’s personality.
“Our top sellers are ‘A Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘1984,’ ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Fahrenheit 451,’” VanKoughnett said. “You can sense a theme of who shops here.”
Inkwell is not short on personality, either. Foster’s dog, Jack, is on hand to greet customers. “Jack is our captain,” she said. Other dogs are also allowed into the store.
Inkwell has tall ceilings and a flowing mural on the upper wall, again fitting well into the personality of the proprietor. “Space Opera is my personal favorite (genre),” Foster said. It’s a genre known for setting lofty plot points that flow together seamlessly.
The bookmarks Inkwell gave away with each book purchase: “Is This Smut?” and “Quitter Strip” are another way the store conveys its personality.
Foster said the bookmarks, whether from her store or elsewhere, would allow her to strike up a conversation with that person, knowing they have similar interests.
Books aren’t the only thing
Foster hopes to make the store more than just a bookstore and coffee shop. “I want to do art shows; it’ll be more than just books,” Foster said.
Events on Facebook have already started to pop up for meetings in the bookstore.
Inkwell Booksellers Company, 426 E. Hennepin Ave., is open Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Eat My Words Bookstore, 214 13th Ave. NE, is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sundays from 12 p.m.-6 p.m.