Omaha Bookstore Takes a Road Less Traveled

by Holly Lebowitz Rossi, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 6/14/2006

Many years ago, when Susan Davies, a United Methodist minister, and her husband David, a software developer, were just out of graduate school, the couple noticed something about the bookstores that specialized in religion and spirituality in their native Omaha, Neb.

At one end of the spectrum were evangelical Christian and traditional Catholic bookstores. At the other end were the New Age bookstores. In the middle, Susan Davies said, "there was just a huge gap."

After pursuing their respective careers, Susan and David finally did their part to fill that gap seven years ago, when they opened Soul Desires, an 1,800 square-foot bookstore and café located in the arts and tourism center of Omaha's Old Market.

The couple, now in their late 50s, caters to a customer base of progressive Protestant and Catholic Christians, as well as spiritual seekers and adherents of many other faiths. Bookselling is only part of what they do at Soul Desires—the café is a regular gathering place for interfaith discussions and presentations, clergy study sessions and book groups.

With an inventory of more than 10,000 titles, Soul Desires also carries "holy hardware"—religious jewelry, bronze statuary, prayer beads and other paraphernalia. Susan Davies summarizes the store's mission by saying, "We thought there needed to be a place where people felt safe, felt a sanctuary for addressing and exploring their faith journeys."

Susan and her husband have discovered some tricks of the trade that contribute to the store's success. They get quick inventory replenishment, which enables the store to maintain its varied selection by keeping only a few copies of each title in stock. And because the Old Market does not have another store that sells new books, Soul Desires invites tourist foot traffic by stocking bestsellers and local interest books as well as their religious and spiritual offerings.

Of course, the Davieses face the same problems as any other independent bookstore. They worry about the ability of the local indie to survive in an age of chains and online commerce. "Moving people out of that understanding, and reminding them of the kind of service, the kind of relationship, the kind of gift a local, independent business gives back to the community—those kinds of things are a constant challenge," said Susan.

But in the meantime, Susan and David have plans to expand, if not in physical space, then in the store’s roster of activities. Plans are underway to offer more classes, study groups and readings in the store, as well as networking events for new Omaha residents and area religious groups.