Berkeley conjures up images from 1960s student protests, but that's only part of the California city's heritage. Just about a mile down College Avenue lies the tree-lined Elmwood section, which features about five blocks of mom-and-pop shops of every variety, a little movie house and no chain stores, all supported by local residents very committed to keeping Elmwood just the way it is.
So four years ago when the owners of Avenue Books announced it was closing after 20 years, the local merchants organization approached Marion Abbott (known to have had a publishing background) about opening a store there. Abbott turned to Ann Leyhe (whom she met years ago at the Radcliff Publishing Course), and the two women (pictured below) decided to open Mrs. Dalloway's, a literary bookstore with a specialty in gardening books and related items. Since opening, business has blossomed, so last year when the independent pharmacy next door announced it was closing, the community turned to Mrs. Dalloway's owners again, who were delighted to accept a chance to expand the bookstore.
The catch: the pharmacy was home to an old-fashioned soda fountain that dated back to 1921, and no one wanted to lose that. (Local resident Ayelet Waldman used both the pharmacy and its beloved fountain in her first literary novel, Daughter's Keeper.) The landlord found a local restaurateur to split the space with Mrs. Dalloway's and keep the historic fountain in business. So now Mrs. Dalloway's is in the process of expanding to 2,800 square feet from 2,000.
Mrs. Dalloway's growth comes at a time when the landscape of bookselling in the East Bay has drastically changed: most notably, Cody's Books and Barnes & Noble have closed in Berkeley. And everyone knows the state of the economy. But sales at the store have risen every year, including an 8% gain last year, Leyhe said. The owners said they believe that they've done well because of the gardening niche--making it a destination place for gardeners even from some distance--combined with the store's neighborhood focus.
Mrs. Dalloway's plans to expand through the literature section housed under an arch bearing Virginia Woolf's opener: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." Besides backlist, the owners plan to increase the children's and YA sections, currently housed under another arch. Until recently, Mrs. Dalloway's stacked its YA titles in the kid's section. It wasn't until it hired Anne Whaling, a Cody's Books refugee, who knew about YA, that Mrs. Dalloway's paid that market much attention. (The owners are open to learning more about their trade as they go and credit the five staffers as their secret weapons.)
Still the owners aims to maintain the feel of the store, which features green and airy garden-inspired surroundings. Often Abbott's dog, Marzipan, roams the sea grass floor. Plants that are for sale literally give life to the place and, there's a mannequin dressed like a modern-day Mrs. Dalloway propped up reading Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black (the book featured recently at a signing in the store). Leyhe's husband, a builder, worked on the store's design--which is composed of sustainable material wherever possible.
Mrs. Dalloway's expansion should be complete by September. Just in time for the early harvest and stocking a new fall season of books.--Bridget Kinsella