The Book Attic, a new and used bookstore in Tomball, Tex., will host a grand reopening celebration this week in its new location. Owner Cyndi Sager, who purchased the bookstore at the end of December, has moved the shop from a 2,000-sq.-ft. storefront in a shopping center to an 1,800-sq.-ft. space in a building that was built as a home.
Sager began the moving process on February 23 and has continued to do business while still moving and unpacking. "Even though my website said not to come yet," Sager recalled, "people came anyway." And while some were "put off" by the bags and boxes of books, others did not mind at all.
Sager explained that she moved the store because the shopping center rent was too high--sometimes as much as 40% of the store's revenue in a given month. In moving to a more affordable location, Sager said that she's lost a little foot traffic and the new space is less open, with walls, doorways and lower ceilings to contend with. But she loves the "old used bookstore in the old house thing" and considers the space a perfect fit aesthetically. There is a large, wrap-around porch and some of the rooms are themed. Cookbooks, for example, are located in the kitchen.
Looking ahead, Sager will continue to work on "flow" in the store, noting that her romance section was currently laid out in a confusing way. Beyond those sorts of tweaks, Sager plans to add online selling and more gift items, including essential oil products, handmade journals and book art.
"I have already had people who didn't know there was a bookstore find me at my new location because they were driving by and saw my sign," Sager said. "I am hopeful that the move was a good one and that the revenue will continue like it used to be, but I guess time will tell."