River’s Edge in Ipswich, Mass., on Boston’s North Shore, may not be the first gift shop to add a shelf of books, but it could be the only one to expand it into an entire bookstore, albeit a small one. In mid-April, Paul Allen-Webber, owner of the 13-year-old store, will close his neighboring Ipswich Party Shop and open Book Nook at River’s Edge in the 500 sq. ft. space it occupied.
“We’re feeling cautiously optimistic to change the store,” says Meg Richardson, book buyer and assistant manager of River’s Edge. The reason for the optimism is that since Richardson was hired last July and began changing the gift shop’s book mix, its book section has matched sales for the party shop.
“Instead of the traditional bookstore model we will be creating something that we call a ‘book boutique,’ ” says Richardson, who has been in the book business for a number of years, including as a book buyer for Hudson Booksellers and manager at the Book Rack in Newburyport, Mass. “We will not be concentrating on bestsellers or hardcovers and playing the discount game.” River’s Edge does well with hardcover cookbooks like the Barefoot Contessa series, as well as some children’s hardcovers. The bulk of the Book Nook’s inventory, however, will focus on trade paperbacks and remainders, along with book-related merchandise, including Kindle covers.
The look of the booktique will also fit in with its gift shop origins. Although it will have a few of the 8-foot bookcases found in more traditional bookstores, it will use hutches, baking racks, and tables to highlight sections, ranging from genre fiction to hiking, classics, cooking, and children’s. YA books will be shelved in fiction.
Currently, River’s Edge does some book events, mostly with local authors like Doug Stewart, author of The Boy Who Would Be Shakespeare, and Justin Kramon, author of Finney. Richardson is hoping to do more, even a poetry slam. The store also has a book club, and Richardson will be adding a second one for children, ages 8 to 12, and their parents.
