There aren’t a lot of bookstores in Santa Maria, let alone locally owned ones. That’s what makes a place like The Bookworm on Betteravia such a special gem.
The small, shotgun-style shop packed wall-to-wall with books of all genres, first hit the scene in 2005. Seven years later, when its founder, Sheila Butterworth, expressed a desire to retire, Darin Gabler, 43, a regular customer along with his wife, Beckie, decided to buy it.
“I’m not really a ‘businessman,’” he told the Sun, “but if we were ever going to own a business, it had to be a bookstore or a record store or something like that.”
The reason why? Partially for social interaction with customers who always seem to offer a new perspective or have great recommendations. The other reason? The joy of random discovery.
“When you go into one of those stores, you may not necessarily know about something until you go in and bump into it,” Gabler explained. “The advertising we see online is generated by algorithms—and they are great and may introduce you to stuff you haven’t thought of—but they’re limited to things you’ve already purchased. Most days here it feels like the customers give the best recommendations to each other.”
That sense of community is important to Gabler, who added that most of his regular patrons were more well-read than he was.
“I never have enough time to read—and as a bookseller, I feel bad saying that, but my schedule right now just doesn’t allow it—but I do a lot of research, so when people ask me about stuff I know what I’m talking about,” he said.
The Bookworm stocks a mixture of new and used books. Gabler said his inventory comes from a combination of trade-ins (for cash or store credit), his own online purchases, and a few chance donations.
“I can’t always get the newest hardback,” he said, “but I always try to get the paperbacks from [Great Britain] because they get those earlier than [North America] does.”
In terms of business, Gabler said sales were solid, and the interview for this story was interrupted several times by phone calls and in-store customer requests for help finding books.
But still, the climate for small companies competing against giants like Amazon and even Costco remains a challenge.
“I’d love to be bigger, but it’s a hard time for retail,” Gabler added. “The past five years have been wonderful. Before we took [the store] over I had a pretty good idea of what it was gonna be and what I wanted to do, and now that I’ve been doing it, I feel pretty good about what we’ve done, but I’m not a big believer in pride, so I never want to sound arrogant about it.
“I honestly don’t think a lot about what we’ve done, I think more about looking ahead to things that I want to do—and that’s part of the frustration because I haven’t gotten to these plateaus that I want to get to with the shop,” he said. “But that’s also part of the joy—having these things to look forward to.
“In fact, that’s part of the joy of it or anyone who owns an independent business,” Gabler added. “That’s part of the key to life—to always have something to look forward to. And if you’re not working for someone, then there’s nobody belittling your work. There’s nobody being dishonest about what you do. You just put the time in and hope to make something happen.
“It’s not a grand thing,” he said. “It’s very simple, but that’s how I feel about it.”
Highlights:
• On Saturday, Feb. 24, the Solvang Chamber of Commerce will host a day of paper shredding at Rabobank Locations in Buellton, Solvang, and Santa Ynez. The Buellton paper shredding will begin at 10 a.m, while the Solvang and Santa Ynez events will begin at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.
• Doctors Without Walls will host a sing-along at the Red Piano in Santa Barbara on Feb. 22. The fundraiser event is a benefit for Santa Barbara Street Medicine and will directly support hundreds of “local people needing basic health care due to poverty, homelessness, or disasters.”
Staff Writer Spencer Cole wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 15-22, 2018.