Spring 2022 - 80

RETAILER PROFILE
An
Informal
Hub
BY DEBBIE EISELE
Managing Editor
Story & Song Bookstore Bistro celebrates
community, conversation and connection
All photos by Christy LeLait.
D
onna Paz Kaufman and her
husband, Mark, opened
Story & Song Bookstore
Bistro, an independent bookstore café
in Amelia Island, Florida in 2018, but
have devoted their careers to helping
others
launch bookstores
since the
1990s. This 4,500 square foot storefront
" celebrates literary, culinary, visual
and performing arts. " Kaufman's
dream of owning a bookstore began
when she was just 16 years old and
visited a bookstore café - this was her
" magical moment. "
Kaufman's vision was to create a
community-based bookstore. She
began her dream with a volunteer
effort - An Evening of Story & Song,
a concert series she launched prior to
opening the store.
" Deciding to open Story & Song
was a significant decision (for us) as
it meant operating two businesses
simultaneously and investing more
of our time launching and growing a
hybrid concept, " she shared. " Since
(we had) been training booksellers for
years, the pressure was on to deliver
something refreshingly unique. "
80 SPRING 2022 GIFT SHOP® PLUS
She found that people were seeking
a " third place " that offered warmth
and excellent customer service. " We
launched it, and it has blossomed
in amazing and some unpredictable
ways, " Kaufman said. By the end of its
first year, it successfully cultivated a
mailing list of more than 5,000 people.
" Each day is filled with love for
our crew, customers, books, artists
and for a magic place that has
been embraced and shaped by the
community, " she said. " Story & Song
is not burdensome work. It is our
passion and our purpose. "
Three
buyers
collaborate with
sales reps and peruse catalogs. To
simplify the buying process, the
team developed two separate book
budgets - one for adult books and
one for children's books. Kaufman
said that they divide those lists into a
frontlist (new releases) and a backlist
(older titles with high demand).
She shared that with more than
2,000 book releases each week it is
paramount that space and budget
" are constantly front-of-mind. "
Kaufman said publishers
catalogs three times a year and the
buyers review more than 8,000 titles
each release season.
The store sells consignment items
from local artists and utilizes the
event space to host three art shows
per year. Local handmade jewelry
is popular as all the proceeds are
donated to local charities. Other
merchandise includes small pottery
items, greeting cards, painted shells
and art created from beach artifacts.
Story & Song is known for
its greeting card selections,
primarily sourced from Cardthartic,
Compendium, Pictura and Leanin'
Tree. The store also carries a selection
of MOVA Globes.
Items from the Library of Flowers;
Lollia and TokyoMilk lines; t-shirts;
book nerd socks from Out of Print;
DEMDACO products; puppets from
Folkmanis and Kids Preferred; and
Merrymakers book-related plush
are also available.
DISPLAYS
release
Story & Song's space incorporates
" layer displays throughout the selling
Spring 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spring 2022
