Bookstore pops up at the Village Center

By Elaine Goodman / Tahoe Business Monitor
Shoppers who visit the just-opened Lake Tahoe Books and Art store in the Village Center won’t just be tackling their holiday gift lists — they’ll also be part of an experiment.
The store, which will be open through December and possibly longer, is in part a test to see if there is enough community support for a permanent, full-service bookstore at the South Shore.

Neighbors Bookstore at the Village Center closed in January 2008 after four years in business, leaving a void that hasn’t quite been filled by the handful of businesses in town that sell books.
Even South Shore residents’ “off-the-hill” alternative, Borders books in Carson City, has closed.
And so Tahoe resident Michael Scialfa, owner of book distributor Crystal Range Associates — Outdoor Books and Maps, decided to investigate whether it’s time for a full-service bookstore to return to the South Shore.
Scialfa began by conducting an online survey, asking residents about their book-buying habits and interest in a holiday bookstore at the South Shore.
The results were encouraging enough to prompt Scialfa to move ahead with a temporary or “pop up” bookstore for the holiday season. In an effort to draw both locals and tourists, he decided to locate the store at the Village Center.
The store opened the day after Thanksgiving in a space just around the corner from Tahoe Sports Ltd. It offers a variety of books, including nature and outdoor books, cookbooks, fiction (set at Lake Tahoe and elsewhere), young adult fiction, humor, and gift books.
As of its first 10 days of operation, about 80 percent of customers have been locals, Scialfa estimated. He wasn’t sure how many locals would visit since many said in the survey that they wouldn’t travel more than a couple of miles from home to shop at a bookstore.
And in another encouraging sign: “Almost everyone who’s walked in has bought a book,” Scialfa said.
Scialfa expects tourist traffic to his store to pick up after there’s a decent snowfall.
Locals who have visited the store have been enthusiastic and many have asked if there are ways they can help.
Among them is Kay Henderson, past president of the South Lake Tahoe branch of the American Association of University Women.
Henderson plans to spread the word about the bookstore by e-mailing fellow members of AAUW and other locals she knows.
Henderson said she’s excited about the return of a full-service bookstore to the South Shore and hopes that the new store can survive.
“A community with a bookstore is richer culturally than a community without one,” Henderson said.
Even if the bookstore continues on a permanent basis, Scialfa said he doesn’t necessarily plan to run it, as his work with Crystal Range Associates keeps him quite busy. But he said he’d be glad to share his expertise with others who might be interested in the venture.
In addition to competition from online book sellers, brick-and-mortar bookstores face other challenges, Scialfa said. Books are sold on slim margins, and bookstores are most likely to attract a following in affluent areas, where rents are high.
Bookstores in shopping centers often have restrictions in their leases that prevent them from selling non-book products offered by other stores in the shopping center.

The details
Lake Tahoe Books and Art is at the Raley’s-anchored Village Center, 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe. Store hours as of early December: Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Thursday, noon - 5 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Store hours will likely be expanded as the holidays approach.
Gift-wrapping service for items bought at the store or elsewhere, for a fee, will be offered beginning Dec. 10.
Call or e-mail to place a special order by Dec. 9 and receive 15 percent off publisher’s suggested retail price.
Follow the store on Facebook for updates. Or call (530) 542-3245 or e-mail LakeTahoeBooksandArt@yahoo.com.