Bunch of Grapes bookstore starts a new chapter
On Saturday morning, as the clock in front of Bunch of Grapes bookstore reminds everyone, "It's time to read." At 9 am, Vineyard Haven's beloved book emporium on Main Street starts a new chapter in its 37-year history, opening its doors again after a devastating fire last July 4.
Bunch of Grapes owner Dawn Braasch in her new office. Photos by Ralph Stewart
The opening will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A grand opening celebration will be held over the July 4th weekend and will include guest author book signings, children’s activities, and food and drink.
As business owner Dawn Braasch and building owner Ann Nelson attest, reaching this milestone less than a year after the fire can be attributed to an outpouring of support from the Island community, the dedication of a team of contractors, and the cooperation of Tisbury selectmen and town officials.
"I think it's going to be a marvelous situation," Ms. Nelson said in a phone call yesterday. "Not only are we serving the community, but the community has really served us. Over the years, people have been such good patrons, and without them, we wouldn't be in business."
Tisbury fire chief John Schilling directs firefighters in front of Café Moxie, which was later razed, during the July 4, 2008 fire. Photo by Diana Waring
Rising from the ashes
The July 4 fire started shortly after 9 am next door at Café Moxie, which shared a common wall with the Bunch of Grapes. The flames shot through the roof of the café and spread to the bookstore's second floor. Although Café Moxie was totally destroyed, the bookstore was left standing.
The contents and interior of the building, however, were badly damaged by smoke and water. Ms. Nelson vowed she would rebuild, as soon as possible.
Last October, Ms. Braasch, the Bunch of Grapes events coordinator for two years, bought the business from Ms. Nelson's son Jon, who had moved to Texas. She has a long-term lease on the building with Ms. Nelson.
About a month later, Ms. Braasch opened a temporary, abridged version of Bunch of Grapes in the old Beadniks warehouse, located between the retail store and corporate headquarters building on Church Street.
Surrounded by books, Anna Lowell tackles yet another box. Photo by Ralph Stewart
After buying the bookstore business, Ms. Braasch hired Ms. Nelson, her former boss, as a consultant. Ms. Nelson said this week that she will continue in that role.
"Ann could not have been nicer," Ms. Braasch said this week. "She's been supportive, and she is good with advice on things that I don't even think about, because I've not done this business before. She sees it from the perspective of many years in the business, and knowing what will sell, and what will translate well. Any time I've called her, she's willing to meet with me - she is really part of the team."
As with many reconstruction projects involving an old building, Ms. Braasch said plumbing and electrical issues presented some challenges. Yet Leo DeSorcy of DeSorcy Construction Company, John Dowling of East Coast Advanced Seamless Systems, Berube Electric Company, and Midland Plumbing finished the project in 10 months.
"There certainly were a lot of people that didn't think it would happen this fast," Ms. Braasch said. "The team that Ann and Leo assembled included companies that have been on the Island for years and know this building and have worked in this building, so I think had we not had people like that, it would have taken a lot longer."
Dailis Merrill stocks the shelves with books he ordered.
In the meantime, operating the mini-Bunch of Grapes proved an invaluable experience for Ms. Braasch. A lot of people told her they thought she should not open the small store because it would lose too much money.
Although Ms. Braasch had previous retail experience, she said that learning how to run a small bookstore first "helped me get my feet wet." It also provided her with some insight about her customer base.
"The Island people came out and supported that little bookstore unbelievably," Ms. Braasch said. "It proved to me what the bookstore means to this community, because they supported us, even when we didn't have anywhere near the selection of books that they were used to, or evening hours."
In fact, with the announcement of the big store's reopening, several customers asked if she could keep the little store open, too.
Finding the right mix
Although the economy changed drastically since she bought the business last October, Ms. Braasch said that has not greatly altered her plans for the bookstore. "I certainly would be foolish, in a down economy, to try to put as many books in here as were here before the fire," she said. "We're just in different times."
Instead, Ms. Braasch decreased the bookstore's total shelf space in the new plans and scaled back the number of copies of each book she bought. "I don't know that the public will notice that there are fewer books," she said. "We still have the breadth of books - we have the selection we once had - we just aren't buying as many."
Bunch of Grapes book buyer Dailis Merrill, who has worked at the store for 20 years, and store manager and children's book buyer Katherine Fergason started compiling order lists before Christmas, Ms. Braasch said.
Although there are wholesalers who will build opening inventories as a service for new bookstores, Ms. Braasch said she turned to Mr. Merrill and Ms. Fergason because of their experience and knowledge of the local market. "People don't understand that what sells on the Island is not necessarily what's on the New York Times bestseller list," she said. "We have a very well-read population here. Somebody out of North Carolina is not going to know the needs of the Island, and so I think Islanders will be thrilled to see us continue to respond to them."
Publishing companies have been very helpful in reestablishing the bookstore's credit under her new ownership and giving her a quick turnaround on book orders, Ms. Braasch said. Authors also were quick to offer their participation in the grand opening and book signings.
Ms. Braasch characterizes Saturday's event as a "soft opening," because the bookstore's shelves will not be totally stocked yet. "It was difficult - we didn't open the original store, any of us," she said. "That was an inventory that was built over 37 years, so you can figure all you want, and run all kinds of formulas, but the reality is, we have different shelving. We thought we would have five shelves in some bookcases, and we had to take a shelf away because we felt like people really couldn't see the books very well."
Cutting back on the number of shelves, however, has helped achieve the goal of creating a less cluttered, more open look to the bookstore. "I wanted you to notice the 'bones' of this building, the architectural details, because it's a beautiful historic building," Ms. Braasch said. "I think when you come through the front door, you have a direct line of sight to the stairs, whereas before, a lot of people didn't even know we had a second floor. It flows right to the back of the store."
Where, by the way, the familiar stained glass wagon wheel window remains above the staircase landing.
Great book safari
Ms. Braasch said the "great book safari" from Church Street to Main Street took place on Monday and Tuesday this week. Her parents, Charlotte and Marvin Kaye, pitched in to help her and the staff on everything from walking dogs to driving a truck.
Employees emptied the shelves at the small store and combined the existing inventory with countless boxes of new books on elegant black bookshelves in the Main Street store.
Kate Whouley, who designs bookstores around the country, worked closely with Ms. Braasch.
"I wanted more of a library feel," Ms. Braasch said, which is evident in features such as a ladder that slides along a wall of books downstairs and school house light fixtures that hang from the ceiling's rough hewn beams.
Ms. Braasch chose black shelves, which she said made the covers of the books stand out. The small magazine room at the back of the store is gone. Magazines now are displayed in racks on the back wall along the staircase landing.
Oak paneling is used throughout the store, as before. Upstairs, some lighter colored accents, as suggested by Ms. Fergason, brighten up the children's section.
A reading area near the front windows includes a small table and chairs, along with a child-sized upholstered chair donated by interior designer Julie Robinson.
Children will have their own special entrance to their upstairs section, through a door decorated with a wagon wheel design at the front of the building, to the left. As a new feature, Bunch of Grapes will hold a weekly children's story time on Saturdays at 10:30 am.
Ms. Braasch said gift items in the upstairs sidelines section include "everything besides books." For one-stop shopping convenience, someone who buys a cookbook for a gift can pick up recipe cards to go with it, as well as a greeting card and gift-wrap, for example.
There will be 13 people working at Bunch of Grapes this summer, Ms. Braasch said. In addition to Ms. Fergason and Mr. Merrill, the original core staff remains, including front-line bookseller Karen Harris, shipping and receiving manager Gardner Baldwin, and sidelines buyer Mara Sullivan. Summer staff includes Clark Maffitt, Peter Ferguson, and Lindsay Webster.
Ms. Braasch said future plans under consideration for Bunch of Grapes include hosting more book clubs and discussion groups during the off-season. The author event series will continue. However, Ms. Braasch said publishers are less willing to spend money to send authors on book tours now because of the economy.
