Independent Bookstore Thrives in Marcellus

Educators happy with their decision to open a bookstore in 2023

By Joe Sarnicola

 

Although Amazon and big box bookstores have the inventory and buying power to control a large share of the book sale market, smaller independent bookstores can survive and even thrive by offering services and experiences the giants cannot.

That’s What She Read in Marcellus is one of those smaller independent bookstores.

Crystal Ponto, 54, and her partner, Sue Keegan, 55, opened the shop in June of 2023. The two friends would often seek out independent bookstores when they traveled together and they had talked about someday opening one of their own.

“I was planning to retire soon and I wanted to open a bookstore,” said Ponto. “We told our families about the idea and they were very supportive. We just needed a location.”

Both women live in Camillus, but no locations there worked out. Someone on social media suggested they try looking in Marcellus.

Kate Kershaw, who owns a small business and several properties in the village, heard the women were looking for a storefront. She asked them to view one of her properties. The previous tenant, Finders Keepers Mining Company, had recently moved to a new location across the street. As soon as Ponto and Keegan saw the property, they knew they had found the right place for their bookstore.

“Kate is our biggest advocate; and the champion of the village of Marcellus. She is a force to be reckoned with,” Ponto said.

Even though it was going to make a tight timeframe, the women wanted opening day to be June 3 because that was the start of Olde Home Days in Marcellus, a big celebration weekend for the village.

This date was also three weeks before Ponto’s retirement as a teacher with Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES. The move involved purchasing enough inventory, painting, decorating and cleaning.

But they met the deadline.

Ponto’s love of books and education has also been the driving force of her career working in an alternative education program.

“You don’t sign up for this job and take it lightly,” she said.

The program she worked in is now called Compass and is for students who struggle in regular school settings.

“The Compass program is all about teamwork,” she said. “We support and encourage each other.”

During her tenure with the program, she worked with her colleagues to develop several new components, such as the lift backpack program, which sends backpacks filled with food home with the students, the Fairy Tale Festival, the Academic Fair and the Compass Christmas Store.

She still works as an adjunct professor at Le Moyne College. She has given a presentation at the National Council of Teachers of English Convention and even at several Harry Potter Education Foundation conventions which, prior to its closing in 2018, “served as an educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to producing academic symposia on the Harry Potter books and cultural phenomenon” since 2002, according to the group’s website.

Keegan is the director of education for Big I New York, a company that provides continuing education and licensing requirements for insurance agents. Although she is still working in this position, she covers the evening hours of the store and alternates weekends with Ponto.

“This is something I had always been interested in, compared to a 9 to 5 job. Everything just fell into place,” she said.

Now only into their second year of operation, That’s What She Read has been welcomed by the Marcellus business community. Speaking about the risk of opening any new business, especially a bookstore in a small village, Ponto said, “We didn’t know what to expect. The people here are fantastic and very supportive of local businesses. We have regulars that come all the time. On Independent Bookstore Day this year, the line was out the door.”

In addition to being supported by the local community, the store supports the community in return and it has also partnered on projects with the Marcellus and Westhill school districts.

The site of the business is in the center of the village, in a white building with blue shutters that was originally built in 1895. On the front portion of the porch is a small table with chairs that invites guests to sit and read or just relax. Each room of the store has its own categories of books. The front room is fiction and other rooms contain nonfiction, mysteries and young adult and children’s books. The back room even contains vintage and gently used clothing from Keegan’s collection that she used to sell online.

“The clothing room has been a big hit,” Ponto said. “People come in to buy a book and they may leave with a sweater and a pair of shoes.”

Keegan and Ponto both are familiar with many types of books and authors, as well as the inventory of their store.

“We work with two small distributors for our books,” Ponto explained. She added that 60% of their books are used, but in very good condition.

“We try to keep our new book prices reasonable. As an English teacher, I have a good knowledge of literature and people like our recommendations. We listen to our customers and we follow our own instincts. We have customers who appreciate what we do. I love historical fiction; Sue likes murders and horror.”

Any book purchased at That’s What She Read is wrapped in brown paper, tied with a decorative ribbon, stamped with the store logo and given a sprig of lavender.

The store is located at 16 E. Main St., Marcellus. The hours of operation are Wednesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s closed Monday and Tuesday.