A friendly aroma greets my nostrils upon walking into Broadway Books. It’s the scent of books that have been lovingly tended and carefully stored. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, nor could I stop my eyes darting from shelf to shelf, quickly scanning the spines of scores of books, any of which could be the next gateway to a new adventure.
Broadway Books’ owners, David and Lisa Karys-Schiff, are no strangers to the magic of books. Lisa started the Mesa Bookstore 30 years ago in Santa Barbara; her husband and fellow co-owner David have transplanted to Santa Maria and have brought an untapped collection of books with them.
“We have so much great stuff,” Lisa said. “I keep pulling boxes out of our book room and, look, first edition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Some families have a guest room; we have had a book room.”
Thirty years of experience have helped Lisa develop book selling into an art in and of itself. First things first: the books.
“You make sure that every book you carry earns its shelf space,” she said. “They all have to be the best. Every single book here is handpicked, examined for quality; it’s priced accordingly. I only want to have things that people want to read and that people are proud to own.”
Books that are cosmetically appealing are important, but the content of the tomes is just as paramount. Lisa makes sure her store is stocked with not just nice books, but books that people want to read.
“First and foremost, we want everything that is 10 minutes old,” she said. “We want the brand new Koontz, and the brand new Grisham, and then once they get to know an author, they want to read everything by them, so we have to have everything of this guy, and everything of that guy.
“So, we tend to have the things that everyone wants to buy,” she added.
After the books comes the physical store. Broadway Books gets its name for being smack dab right on Broadway, across from Santa Maria High School, right next to BeSafe Lock and Key. The store isn’t much larger than a living room, yet it’s been arranged to maximize space while keeping the area comfortable for customers.
“The way we lay it out,” Lisa said, “it won’t ever get too crowded here.”
An unspoken ingredient of absolute importance in the business world is passion. Owners must love their business, love being there, and love what they’re doing. Lisa’s love affair with books began at an early age, when her mother introduced her to the stories of Ray Bradbury, she explained.
“Oh my word, I just understood then why people read, why people write,” she said. “It is just so lush and evocative, and it makes you think about things you might never have thought of before.”
You can point at just about any book on the shelf and chances are Karys-Schiff has read it—and can quote a line from it. This intimate knowledge of not just books, but exactly what she has in her store, is what makes for happy and well-attended-to customers.
A part of the appeal of her business, Lisa explained, is the fact that customers can trade in their old books for store credit—but she doesn’t accept damaged books, keeping with her first rule.
“It’s always good to get a little bit off of your tab,” she said, “but it has to be something I can sell. That’s how we keep the reading stock fluid.”
That reading stock is supplemented by Lisa’s own keen eye for book buying. Whether from an estate sale or another bookstore out of the area, she’ll find the books that belong in her store.
“Once we get to know our customers, we know what they want and we are out there looking for the stuff they want,” she said. “You get to know there is one guy who reads everything about World War II subs, and so you pick those books for them.”
The final link in the chain that makes a powerful bookstore is the people, she explained: If you want to own a bookstore, you have to love people.
“You have to be interested in people,” Lisa explained. “They all have a story, and I get to hear them, I get to hear everybody’s stories.”
She finds that her enthusiasm for sharing good books with people is always met with an equal enthusiasm for her business. Customers young and old will find comfort in the organized shelves, various titles, and friendly book lovers on both sides of the counter.
“It’s old fashioned here, it’s like it used to be,” Lisa said. “People nod and smile, people say hello, and I’m not going to give that up.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne can’t keep his nose out of a good book. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 22-29, 2013.