Alice Hutchinson”™s former life as a politician may have ended in defeat, but that hasn”™t stopped her from turning the page to another lifelong passion: books.
“E-books are here to stay, no one is denying that,” said Hutchinson, former first selectman of Bethel. “But people still want books for themselves and for their children.”
Opening up a small bookstore on the second floor of a coffee shop in Bethel, Hutchinson has been testing the town”™s appetite for books. And after nearly two years, the results are in.
“A bookstore is a component of community that people still value,” Hutchinson said. “It promotes literacy and gives a platform for local authors.”
An active civic resident of Bethel, Hutchinson ended her term as first selectman in 2005 and later made a run as the underdog candidate for the state Senate race in 2010 to represent Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield and Sherman.
She wasn”™t elected but Hutchinson said the experience was still of great value, especially as a local business owner now.
“I stepped back from politics to do this, but it”™s still a relationship with people and the community,” she said. “My life really hasn”™t changed ”¦ I got to know a lot of people and the pulse of the community pretty well. I wouldn”™t open a business anywhere else. I”™m very happy to open a store in Bethel.”
Just last month, Hutchinson moved the store, named Byrd”™s Books after her maiden name Byrd, onto the main drive of Bethel and into a larger storefront. With three times the space, she”™s expanded the store”™s selection ”” which caters to customers”™ interest in local authors and children”™s books ”” and she has started to hold more writers”™ workshops, poetry workshops and teacher talks.
At a time when national retailers and used-book stores have been closing, Hutchinson said she felt the key to her store”™s success will be her involvement in the community, fresh inventory and close attention customers”™ interests.
“(National) book sales are still growing,” she said. “Not at the rate it was. But small, independent bookstores on a whole are doing well, if not better than a lot of retail stores.”
Hutchinson”™s mother also ran a bookstore, in Westport, for roughly 20 years, which is where Hutchinson got her first taste for running a store. She also worked at the Barnes & Noble in Danbury when it first opened.
“The bookstore itself is really an adventure to see if enough people still want books in their lives,” Hutchinson said. “I would encourage people, no matter what town they”™re from, to shop in their towns and support the local businesses. They give back to the community far better than large businesses do.”
