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| Bookish's future home. | |
Bookish, a new and used bookstore, will open next spring at 811 Roseburg Square in Modesto, Calif. The Modesto Bee reported that when Yesterday's Books closed late last year, after more than four decades in business, Will DeBoard and Paula Treick DeBoard "got busy planning. Now, their work is turning into a new indie bookstore for the city... in one of Modesto's most established shopping centers, Roseburg Square."
"We kept saying, 'We wish Modesto had a bookstore. Why doesn't someone open a bookstore?' '' Treick DeBoard said. "And then we said, 'Why can't we do this?' "
In February they began researching what it would take to open a bookstore themselves. They originally had hoped to find a downtown location, but then the space in Roseburg Square became available. Treick DeBoard is an author (most recently of the novel Here We Lie in 2018) and writing lecturer at University of California, Merced. The co-owners are self-described die-hard book lovers.
"To get started they've relied on advice from other local small business owners, their own experiences visiting indie bookstores across the state and beyond--something they always do when traveling--and a boot camp program with the Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center," the Modesto Bee noted. Treick DeBoard also spent this summer interning at the A Seat at the Table bookstore in Elk Grove. The DeBoards have launched an Indiegogo campaign to help with the renovations and other needs for the new enterprise.
"We've been really overwhelmed by the community. We expected our friends to come on board with us and support us. But all these people we'd never met or heard of have been sending us messages about how excited they are about this," Treick DeBoard said. "We are hoping the crowdfunding is the community buying into it, and then we could do even more with this."
They plan to carry about 40% new and 60% used books. Ultimately they want the shop to be a gathering space for book clubs and community groups.
In a Facebook post announcing the new location and more detailed plans, the co-owners wrote: "All good stories start with a story... right? One day this summer, I was walking the pups through Roseburg Square and noticed the empty storefront at 811, and I immediately stopped and took the exterior pictures you see here and sent them to Will. The truth is, we had been looking at some downtown properties (we love downtown!) but kept running into little barriers, like parking and space--either too much or not enough. And then came 811. It checked all our boxes: the windows, the high ceilings, the access to parking and proximity to the Virginia Trail and other small businesses.... We'll get started soon.... We're grateful for all of you. And we can't wait for you to visit us in this space!"