Wanted: New owner for beloved independent bookstore

July 18, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin draws a crowd at Bridgeside Books in November 2018 to discuss her memoir "Coming of Age." Courtesy photo.

After 11 years as the face of Waterbury’s independent bookstore, Hiata Corduan says it’s “time to move on to the next chapter” and has put her business up for sale. 

In an announcement on social media this week, Corduan called her run “eleven amazing, rewarding fulfilling years” and asked who next might want to fulfill a dream of owning a bookshop. 

The decision was not made lightly, Corduan said, noting that she had been planning the move before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, “turning the world upside down.” 

The store is not closing, she stressed, saying it will remain in operation until a new owner is found. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m committed to finding the right person,” she said. “I know it could take awhile and it’s going to be a process.”

In her announcement, Corduan aptly called her store “a fixture” in Waterbury. Bridgeside is known for its eclectic collection of books and gifts, a busy schedule of events, and its support for many community activities. 

Bridgeside opened exactly 11 years ago today on July 18, 2009. Corduan previously worked at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters where she opened the visitors center and cafe in 2006 and ran it for three years before setting out to open her own business. 

The timing was good with Bridgeside coming onto the scene as Waterbury’s downtown was evolving and just as the tide began to turn nationally for independent bookstores.

The arrival of Amazon.com in 1995 dealt a mighty blow to booksellers of all sizes, especially small, independent operations. After reaching an historic high, the number of independent bookstores in the U.S. dropped 43 percent within five years of Amazon’s entering the business, according to the American Booksellers Association. The upheaval didn’t just hit the small players, either. Big-box national chain Borders went out of business in 2011 and Barnes & Noble also saw its footprint shrink. 

A February story in Forbes magazine tells of new research by Harvard University professor Ryan Raffaelli who spent eight years studying independent bookstores across the country. He visited shops in 26 states and combed through articles documenting the trends in the industry for his recently released study titled  “Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores.” 

Raffaelli maintains that the track record of independent bookstores that survived the tremendous upheaval in their business offers lessons for all retailers in how to adapt and thrive in a changing marketplace. 

“Independent bookstores provide a story of hope for community-led businesses,” he told Forbes.

After all of his travels and visits to bookstores around America, Raffaelli concluded that those in business today have come through the storm in their industry by following what he calls the “3Cs” model: community, curation, and convening. 

Bridgeside illustrates this idea well. Its ties to the community are strong as Corduan and her staff built relationships with customers over the years. The connections come with each recommendation and special order, every book gift-wrapped at the checkout counter. 

Curation is both a skill and an art for many retailers, especially booksellers who have a vast universe of titles to sift through to build their stock. The mix evolves from knowing customers and successfully and consistently matching them with the right book. Corduan built her inventory to appeal to a cross-section of readers and book-buyers from children’s titles to best-sellers, Vermont non-fiction, biographies, travel and offbeat humor, cookbooks and classics mixed in. And when a customer looking for a specific title came up short, a special order request often produced results in a few days.  

Bridgeside’s busy calendar illustrates Raeffelli’s third C -- convening -- which strengthens a retailer’s position in the marketplace.

Prior to the pandemic, the shop hosted a variety of events such as author visits and book-signings, children’s storytimes, adult book groups, and even live music. 

Vermont author Stephen P. Kiernan visited in May 2017 to share his novel, “The Baker’s Secret” with an eager crowd seated in mismatched chairs to listen to him read excerpts, ask questions and wait patiently for him to sign fresh copies. “I did exactly one event in that store and it was a perfect evening. Perfect,” he recalled last week. 

Former governors were just as at home discussing their memoirs beside the poetry shelves as the Girl Scouts were selling their cookies while shoppers browsed the cookbook sale section. 

Other events weren’t so typical -- wine tastings, extempo storytelling, animal visits and even a fly-fishing demonstration. “That was by design,” Corduan said. “I wanted to make the bookstore for everyone, not just people who want to read.”  

Raffaelli calls that approach key to not just surviving but thriving in the marketplace as a bookstore becomes a gathering place that community members consider it a place to not just spend money, but to spend time. 

July 18, 2019, Bridgeside Books owner Hiata Corduan hosts a 10th anniversary party for her bookstore. Courtesy photo.

Bridgeside’s run in Waterbury unfolded as independent bookstores not only hung on but turned the corner using a combination of the principles Raefffelli observed. As a result, according to Forbes, the American Booksellers Association in 2019 claimed more than 2,500 members, up from just 1,651 in 2009, and members reported average annual sales growth of 5 percent in 2018. 

Corduan said she’ll share the details with serious potential buyers who no doubt will understand that 2020 is wreaking havoc with the books. She knows it may take some time but she believes the store’s track record and place in the community are its strongest selling points. 

So for now, she will keep her door open to let in just a few mask-wearing customers at a time. The event schedule is empty, but special orders are still arriving in the mail nearly every day. And with the pace slower than usual, Corduan said she’s thinking ahead just a bit. 

“I’m most excited about having time,” she said. “There are business ideas I’m dying to explore.”