Rasha Mourtada of the Globe & Mail profiles Joanne Saul and Samara Walbohm, who took on the big chains with their independent bookstore and art gallery in Toronto:

Joanne Saul and Samara Walbohm first met in the stacks at the University of Toronto's Robarts Library in 1995. They were both doing their PhDs in literature, so they were always surrounded by books. "We'd have these fantasies about what we might do if we didn't end up pursuing academic careers—about doing something related, but different," says Saul.

Saul went on to teach as an assistant professor at U of T. Walbohm, meanwhile, took a break to train with Canada's national rowing team for the Olympics before finishing her degree. A decade later, they were still daydreaming and talking about how people come together around books. "We wanted to sell books, but it was more than that," says Saul. "We wanted to bring back the idea of the community bookstore as a meeting ground."

There was one snag: Saul and Walbohm knew nothing about selling books. So before they even found a space in Toronto, they hired a store manager with 15 years' experience in the book business. Only then did they start hunting for a shop. "We knew right away that location was going to be everything," says Saul. They needed a place in a close-knit community that would respond to their kind of retail establishment — but where there was no real competition. Between big-box retailer Chapters/Indigo and local indie chain Book City, that narrowed their options to just a handful of neighbourhoods.

A full year into their search, in December, 2005, a small shop in trendy Trinity-Bellwoods came up for lease. "We walked in and just knew it was right," says Saul. "The building had a historical feeling, the ceilings were high, and it had a lot of character." As a bonus, the landlord threw in the basement, giving them almost 2,000 square feet for books and also a gallery focused on book-related art.

Read the rest of Rasha Mourtada by clicking here.

Source: The Globe & Mail

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