When Bob Greene announced his retirement from BookPeople of Moscow after 30 years, Steffen Werner thought Moscow was going to lose a landmark.
“It was a sad moment,” Werner said.
Werner, a University of Idaho psychology professor, was on sabbatical in Europe when he heard the news. When he returned to Moscow, Greene still hadn’t sold the store.
Carol Spurling worked at bookstores off and on. In fact, she moved to the Palouse with her husband to work at Bruised Books in Pullman.
The Spurlings contacted Werner and his wife, Nicole, and a partnership was born.
They bought BookPeople at the end of December and started renovating.
Spurling said they re-did everything, including the floors and paint. The bookshelves were custom-built. She said they repurposed some of the rooms and spaces as well.
“People are shocked by the transformation,” Spurling said.
Werner said BookPeople is a focal point for downtown Moscow. He said it’s important to support independent bookstores.
Werner also owns part of One World Café, so he said he knew what owning a small business was like.
He said he doesn’t have a lot to do with the day-to-day operations of the bookstore.
Spurling said she does a lot of the ordering for the store.
“I’m a literature person,” Spurling said.
Having never owned a bookstore before, she said it is challenging to know what books to buy.
She relies on bookseller tools, good sales reps and customer input, she said.
Spurling’s interests include mysteries, travel and cooking. She said those sections are particularly large.
“We have a really big children’s section,” Spurling said.
She said many people don’t buy books for themselves, but will buy books for children and grandchildren.
“We go a lot on our favorites,” Spurling said.
She said several friends have offered suggestions for every section of the store.
Book People can also order any book it does not carry, Spurling said.
“I just like to help people get the books that they want,” Spurling said.
She said it doesn’t cost anything extra to order a book, and they can usually get books quickly
Book People has hosted some events, including UI’s MFA Spring Reading series, Spurling said. She hopes to hold more events in the future.
Book People’s grand reopening will take place May 17.
Kasen Christensen can be reached at [email protected]