Savoy Bookshop and Cafe, announced last year as a collaboration between the owners of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn., and two community developers in Westerly, R.I., is under construction in Westerly and aiming for July 1 as a prospective opening date. The two developers, Chuck Royce and his son-in-law Daniel King, were spurred into opening an independent bookstore after Westerly's only indie, Other Tiger, closed in April 2014.
 |
|
| Architect's rendering of the new Savoy Bookshop and Cafe (courtesy Leslie Architects) | |
"Other Tiger closing left a hole in our community," explained King, who works as an account director for a media production company in Brooklyn, N.Y., in addition to managing and developing property with Royce. Royce and King have overseen several community-focused development projects in Westerly, including the renovation of the Ocean House inn and the on-going renovation of the United Theatre. "Chuck is a huge community driver," King continued. "It really pushes him."
Before Other Tiger closed its doors, Royce and King had been in discussion with Robert Utter, the store's owner, potentially to buy the store and keep Utter in charge of day-to-day operations. Utter, however, eventually decided to move on from the store. Royce and King then discussed opening a bookstore of their own, but neither of them had the necessary knowledge or experience.
"Chuck has always felt strongly about making sure there was a bookstore in the community," recalled King. "We thought, that's great, but who's going to be the one to run it?"
To that end, Royce and King turned to Bank Square Books, which is six miles away from downtown Westerly. King didn't know co-owner Annie Philbrick but had been a longtime fan of Bank Square Books.
"When I met Annie, it was absolutely clear she was the right person," said King. "I have to say it was one of those serendipitous moments."
"It was pretty much a situation where I wasn't going to say no," recounted Philbrick. "They're really good people; they're really bound to the town of Westerly. They're dying to have a bookstore back in their community."
Philbrick will oversee operations at Savoy Bookshop, and with the grand opening tentatively set for July 1, she'll soon begin hiring staff for the new store. She expects to have some of the new team start working and training in Bank Square Books by May and, at least at first, some Bank Square Books employees will probably alternate between the two locations. Philbrick hopes to guarantee that the "feeling and vibe" of Bank Square Books gets translated intact into the Westerly store. The cafe, meanwhile, will be operated by a local couple who run a coffee bar in the Westerly YMCA.
Savoy Bookshop and Cafe will reside in a four-story, ornate building that was last used commercially as Hotel Savoy, which closed in the 1980s. The bookshop will occupy the first two floors and the basement; above the bookshop are renovated condos, which are currently occupied and have their own separate entrances. The building dates back to the 1800s and has seen many uses, including as a hotel, an auto-parts shop and, at some point in its early days, a brothel. And given the age and multiple uses of the building, renovations have been extensive. "It looks like a construction zone, but they have a plan," said Philbrick. "We're making progress--I was impressed."
A lot of the work so far has involved reinforcing the shop's facade and floors, along with bringing the building up to code. The plan is to clean up the exposed brick and stonework, and all the shelving and woodwork, meanwhile, is being built at two off-site workshops. With such an old building, King explained, "When you take a board up, you're going to find something somebody did 50 years ago that isn't up to code," and as such the opening date of July 1 is a bit flexible. But, he said, Savoy will open in August at the latest.
Philbrick and her staff will have some 2,500 square feet to work with at Savoy Bookshop and Cafe. It'll be a general-interest, new bookstore with a sizable children's section and a similar look and feel to Bank Square Books. The store's first event is already scheduled for June: it'll be a sneak peek at the upcoming bookstore, followed by a talk and reception at the Westerly library.
Of all the projects he's done in Westerly, King said, this project has generated the most enthusiasm. "It's the only one where people will stop me at the grocery store and say, I'm so excited, I can't wait," he recalled. And once the store opens this summer, King will step back from the project and leave running the business to Philbrick.
He added: "I would say my biggest day-to-day involvement will be getting a cup of coffee and grabbing a book." --Alex Mutter