My best friend Cale and I began frequenting Literati Bookstore as soon as the doors opened in 2013. Literati initially drew me in aesthetically, but ultimately captured me with their vast and impressive collection. During one of my first visits, I immediately noticed The Iowa Review on journal shelving! University of Iowa, represent!
Literati does an incredible job listening to the knowledgeable Ann Arbor bookworms that are their customers. They also house an impressive staff that is dedicated to learning and curating each section of the shop. It is evident that the staff is committed, as little white tags can be seen sticking out under books on every shelf--notes that are filled with book reviews and recommendations from each employee.
So, I am actually one of those people that takes extreme pleasure in book collecting, but is an incredibly slow reader. While more than half of my shelves are full of literature I obtained at Literati, only a quarter of it has actually been opened. I totally attribute this to a learned trust I have in the Literati staff. Those little white notes have never led me astray, and I never leave the store thinking, "I could have done without this." And isn't that the most exciting thing ever? To know that on any given day, boredom isn't even possible?
I have a deep respect for Literati, as I have never seen them sitting still. They continue to bring in notable authors for readings, host a number of community events, and are currently preparing for a skyward expansion. This addition will allow Literati to partner with local's favorite espresso wizard, Sandy and The Espresso Bar.
I had the pleasure of speaking with owners Mike and Hilary Gustafson about Literati and Ann Arbor this week, and am only more certain that this bookstore is one of the most impressive and exciting new business in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
What is your history with Ann Arbor, MI?
Hilary grew up here in Ann Arbor (she was a Huron River Rat), and Hilary and I both have family here in Ann Arbor.
Why Literati in Ann Arbor, MI?
When we were living in Brooklyn, venturing to indie bookstores was part of our every day lifestyle. We visited Greenlight, Book Court, Word Bookstore, McNally Jackson, among others. After Borders closed nationwide, we thought, “Ann Arbor should have a bookstore like these.” A bookstore that was very events-focused, a bookstore that sold new books and brought in authors and was a lively addition to the downtown community.
In thinking about the new addition, did Literati always have a complete picture or idea that the two of you have been working towards?
Quickly after opening, we realized that our “events space” cut off half our inventory from customers. We needed a space that was dedicated for events and readings. Expanding upstairs made a lot of sense for that purpose. The store continues to evolve, though, and we're excited to see where it will be in 5 or 10 years from now.
Why books & coffee? Tell me a bit about the decision to partner with The Espresso Bar.
We don’t know coffee, and we didn’t want to be like another bookstore that opens a coffee shop because “that’s what bookstores do these days.” If we were going to open a coffee shop, we wanted it to be done by people who were passionate about coffee. We want to focus on books, because that’s what we know and love. Partnering with Sandy and The Espresso Bar allows us to focus on books, allows Sandy to expand his space and customer base, and allows us to have a better space for readings and events. We are very excited. Sandy is as passionate about coffee as we are about books.
Is there anything notable about the bookworms of Ann Arbor?
This is a book town. Many customers help curate some of our selections. They are passionate buy-local advocates who don’t want downtown Ann Arbor to turn into Times Square. They want to keep it weird, they want to keep it creative. They have seen a lot of bookstores close, and they don’t want us to go under. They’ve been incredibly supportive and patient and kind. We are so lucky to be here.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of opening & operating a bookshop today?
Owning and operating a bookshop does involve staying on top of new books and reading as much as you can, but it’s also like any other business. It’s accounting, logistics, paying bills, cleaning clogged toilets. We’ve had a few people who are like, “When I retire, I want to open a bookstore.” But this is a career, like any other career. These are long days, like owning any other business. We live and breathe this store, this industry, and this community.
I would say, specifically in Ann Arbor, the biggest difficulty for us is rising rents. You can spend decades improving the area and bringing people downtown, and then one day a landlord comes in and says he’d prefer to rent to some institution with no affiliation to Ann Arbor at all. It’s frustrating. We live here. We hire here. We pay taxes here. Rising rents are a problem for many bookstores around the nation, and they’re a problem for independently owned businesses here in Ann Arbor. I want Ann Arbor to stay creative, to stay a little weird and quirky, and to be a cool, fun place to live. Independently owned businesses help enhance that experience, but many bookstores in many downtowns are being pushed out to other areas by rising rents. I fear that Ann Arbor is heading down that path. Even though we can pay our rent, we’re still lucky our landlord took a chance with us. Many landlords didn’t even want to rent to a bookstore, with the nationwide stigma that “bookstores are dying.”
How does your staff each play a role in the shop?
Our staff is the reason we are successful. Everyone on our staff is assigned a section to curate and to learn. Those sections rotate, so each staff member can become knowledgeable, over time, about various categories in the store. Everyone on our staff helps with events, reading books ahead of time and recommending them to customers. They not only assist and aid with our operations, but they invent new internal systems to help us operate better. We’re learning something new every day, and I believe we’re improving every day. Our staff has helped us get so much better than where we were 18 months ago when we opened. Many of our staff has book experience. Our manager Jeanne worked with Borders for 25 years. We have MFA graduates who helped curate the best poetry section in Michigan. We have extremely passionate Book Ninjas who make the store successful. Our staff is the best staff of any new bookstore in the nation.
What is your favorite book release of 2014 that can be found on your shelves today?
Lila. It’s a masterpiece. Hilary and I rarely agree on books. We have very different tastes and reading interests. But we agree about Lila. Station Eleven is also very, very good, as is All The Light You Cannot See.
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