Many communities across Montana are blessed with a small, independent bookstore. Like most other businesses, bookstores have had some interesting ups and downs.
Historically, bookstores have endured wave after wave of transitions: up until the late 1800s, publishing dominated the public’s consumption through books and newspapers. When radio burst into commercial popularity a century ago, publishers worried that print was going to run out of ink. Radio joined the worrisome when television popped onto the scene. And with digital media, television is just as worried now about its business models as radio and newspapers were. But, so far, each successive wave of technology has failed to dislodge the public’s obsession with older media. Many independent bookstores stand as testimony to the longstanding popularity of older media.
In light of that landscape, we thought it might be good to check in with some of Montana’s independent bookstores. We’ ll be visiting bookstores in your communities to chat with the owners and operators about how things have been, and how things might be changing. Today, Beartooth Books in Red Lodge. We sat down with co-owners Brain and Amy Sweet inside their store in a 120 year old building on South Broadway.
As a young dating couple, Brian and Amy had a plan: run a bookstore, a ski store and a bakery, and then pick the best. They were successful with and sold all three businesses, including a book store in Washington State. Out of the three, the Sweets enjoyed the bookstore model most. About that time, Red Lodge’s several-year shortage of a good independent bookstore was troubling to the couple, and Beartooth Bookstore was born.
In a short interview, Brian and Amy talk about the retail business, their personal affinity for the bookstore business model, and the community they find in a bookstore. Brian says that his youthful experience in retail was not very helpful in the bookstore model, and that it was his mother who pointed out that bookstore customers are a little different than in most retail operations. He’s learned there’s a little magic involved.
“Now if we know a customer we might sidle up and say, ‘Betsy you would really love this book.’ Mostly not, and they mostly don’t ask us, unless it’s a present. They are here for the discovery and it’s our job to put the books that are outstanding ready and waiting for them to discover on their own. So I think that’s part of the magic, and it’s very different than selling skis or running shoes.”
Amy and Brian keep the store stocked with fiction, local and Montana history, children’s books, and Montana and Yellowstone outdoor guides. Amy is confident that the mix reflects their local customers as well as the vast influx of visitors to the Red Lodge region.
“I feel like a bookstore is one of those essentials that people feel like they need in their life. So, it’s been pretty steady - there hasn’t been a huge up and down the way it might be in some other industry. So we’re very lucky that we have that kind of industry that stays perennially year after year.”
