Hollister
– Bibliophiles rejoice. The owners of Kelly’s Gift Place have
announced their plans to convert a portion of their operation into
a bookstore and coffee shop, which could open in a matter of
weeks.
Hollister – Bibliophiles rejoice. The owners of Kelly’s Gift Place have announced their plans to convert a portion of their operation into a bookstore and coffee shop, which could open in a matter of weeks.
“I want this to be a place where you can sit and read or grab coffee with the girls,” said Kelly Owczarzak, who owns the shop with her husband, Todd. “A quiet place where you can sit and just ‘be.'”
The renovation is just as much about encouraging locals to hang out downtown when the urge to curl up with a good book strikes instead of heading to an out-of-town mall as it is about expanding the Owczarzaks’ business, Kelly said.
“I’m trying to do things that will encourage people to shop with us downtown,” she said. “Because I think it’s really important that we support our own community.”
Ever since Kelly’s Gift Place began as a smaller operation in the storefront next door to its current home on the corner of Sixth and San Benito streets, the plan as been to expand.
“When we originally bought the gift shop, we always knew we wanted a bookstore to be part of our business, a predominantly Christian bookstore,” Kelly said. “And the opportunity just sort of blossomed.”
Kelly describes her vision as a “secular/non-secular” bookstore, one that will specialize in Christian books, but also offer a selection of “women’s lit,” children’s and self-help or self-discovery titles, as well as some Spanish selections. She also added that she plans on having titles available for special order in many languages, as well.
“I’m very interested in the mind, body, spirit mental-health thing,” she said.
The bookstore, reading room and coffee shop will take up the back section of the store and have its own separate entrance, for people who just want to “slip in and slip out.” The Owczarzaks plan on beginning renovations next week and hope to open the new additions in four or six weeks.
“I just keep changing my mind about what I want,” Kelly said, laughing. “I do know that I want lots of comfy chairs and couches, and a big-screen TV and a DVD player if someone wants to hold a bible study or a class here. I’m not trying to be another Starbucks, though; we want to keep it pretty low-key.”
Kelly acknowledges that operating a bookstore might be a challenge in Hollister. Two or three such operations have come and gone just in the past decade or so, and San Benito County’s illiteracy rate is a mighty 28 percent, according to the San Benito County Free Library, compared to a statewide average of 24 percent.
“I think in this economy, it’s hard to anything that’s a standalone business to do very well, including a bookstore,” Kelly said. “But I believe that the bookstore and the gift shop and the coffee shop will all work to compliment each other, so it can work.”
While she’s undoubtedly busy, Kelly says she still finds time to read. Currently she’s working her way through “Fresh-Brewed Life,” an inspirational title by Nicole Johnson.
She also added that she’s looking for suggestions from local residents, not only concerning what they’d like to see in the new bookstore, but what can be done to improve the downtown scene in general.
“I’m always wanting to hear what we can do to improve our downtown,” she said. “Because I want to do whatever I can to make this a better place and encourage people to spend time here.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
