nook and cranny.
Rare first editions, kissy vampires, and more
by Petras Barcas –
Pictures of customers, a cat that hung around for 18 years, and staff Christmas parties, adorn the walls.
An antique dentist’s work station serves as a planter in the corner. And the wonderful smell of old books fills every nook and cranny.
Downtown Books and News has operated in Asheville for 28 years, and it’s just as eclectic as ever. The inventory hovers around 28,000 used books, all purchased from people who come into the store, and the varied material keeps regulars coming back weekly.
“There’s a real randomness here because we don’t control our inventory,” said Julian Vorus, the store’s manager for the last ten years. Vorus ran a bookstore in Manhattan, and worked at Downtown News and Books’ bigger sister, Asheville’s own Malaprop’s. Both stores are owned by Emöke B’Racz.
Despite his extensive experience in the book selling business, Vorus said he’s constantly surprised by what comes through the door of the shop. “Without fail, every week here I’ve seen books I’ve never seen before in my life,” he said.
Rare first editions, musty old leather-bound books on intellectual subjects, and newspapers from around the world may conjure images of a stuffy old bookstore, but that’s not the case.
is as eclectic as ever.
“There’s a few things we try to steer away from,” said Vorus with a smile. “We don’t really have a romance section, but there’s stupid fun stuff here as well.”
Perched under a sign indicating the “kissy vampire books” section is a cardboard cutout of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, grinning on the end of a row of paperbacks. But not fifty feet away is a rare first edition of the Lewis and Clark expedition from 1814 that walked in the door one day late last year.
Vorus said some customers know the value of what they have when they go to sell, some don’t know what they have.
“He didn’t,” said Vorus of the $4,500 book’s seller. “We did the right thing and gave him a fair price. If it were a two volume set, the price tag would be $35,000.”
The staff pools their knowledge and uses online resources to price rare books, some of which are listed on the internet for sales through a brokerage company. About 300 high end or strange, unusual books are listed online to reach a broader audience.
Vorus said the online aspect hasn’t changed the way Downtown Books and News operates very much, since they work under such a niche. While high end and rare books are impressive, exciting, and fun to see and sell, he says the average price of books in the store is about seven dollars, and it’s the bread and butter inexpensive books that drive the store’s profit.
“We don’t have to depend on selling $500 books to pay the rent,” he said. “However, with used books, we have to be aware of how inexpensively things can be found online.”
Selling such intimate goods such as books means the customer base is both tenacious and warm, coming back often to check on new items. It’s the community of locals that allows the store to buck the Asheville trend of having a slow season.
“Tourist season helps, but the difference between seasons is not that huge in sales,” reports Vorus. “We definitely have regular customers. It’s a very faithful, motivated regular customer base that comes in to see what they missed week after week. They’ve been supporting the store for decades.”
It’s the customers, their rabid curiosity, and not knowing what’s coming through the door next that has kept Dianne Tinman working at the bookseller for 18 years.
“I’m lucky to live in a literate area where people are hungry for books,” she said. “All of these books are from the community, they support the bookstore, and it’s wonderful.”
The store also is open every day of the year, even Christmas day, the origin being that people needed to get their newspapers. After that, a tradition was born.
“There was a spontaneous potluck on Christmas one year. People come, they like it,” said Vorus. “Books are a direct representation of different people’s tastes, it’s a mirror of the community. Something is working. We’re still here, and things are going well.”
Downtown Books & News
67 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville
Sun-Thurs 9AM-7PM; Fri-Sat 9AM-9PM
(828) 253-8654
www.downtownbooksandnews.com