Phoenix Rises to Replace The Book Rack

By Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 9/25/2007 2:11:00 PM

Four years after they exited the book business and sold The Book Rack & Children’s Pages, Michael DeSanto and Renée Reiner are opening Phoenix Books in Essex, Ver. The aptly named store will be in the same shopping center where The Book Rack was located for the past five years, before closing last March.

Phoenix Books will also be roughly the same size as The Book Rack, 3,250 sq. ft., and has hired several former employees. But there the similarities end. “We are changing the product mix,” DeSanto told said. “We’re upscaling the store from a homey cottage bookstore. The ambience is going to hint at metro.” To go with the store’s new look, DeSanto and Reiner are preparing a new Web site: www.phoenixbooks.biz. 

DeSanto is currently in the midst of obtaining a liquor license to sell beer and wine and plans to turn in-store events into a profit center. “What we aim to do when you come to our store,” said DeSanto, “is sell you a glass of wine and a tapas plate instead of giving you a free cup of coffee.”

Books will still be Phoenix Books’ primary business, and DeSanto anticipates that they will comprise 70% of the store’s gross dollar volume. In terms of space, about 2,400 sq. ft. will be devoted to books, cards and gifts; the remainder will be used for the café, which is where Phoenix Books will hold events.

Although the store won’t be operational until October 13 or have its grand opening until the following week on October 20, DeSanto says that he and Reiner have been welcomed back by the community. “They took The Book Rack for granted and when it went away, they were surprised, shocked and dismayed,” he said.