What's behind Boston's bookstore "boomlet"

State of play: Boston has seen a "boomlet" of independent bookstores in the past three years, says Beth Ineson, executive director of the New England Independent Booksellers Association.

• Ineson says NEIBA has seen more new members in the past three years than in the last 15 years combined, from Rozzie Bound and Beacon Hill Bookshop & Cafe to All She Wrote Books in Somerville.

While other regions have seen bookstores come and go, New England's high cost of opening a brick-and-mortar store has made it hard for new sellers to find a foothold.

• But the pandemic-driven shift to remote work — and the sudden jump in commercial space vacancies — has given booksellers an opening to lease or buy stores for less, Ineson says.

Reality check: Opening a bookstore remains incredibly difficult, especially in this pricey region.

• Booksellers interviewed by Axios are creating multiple income streams, partnering with cafes and pursuing alternative business models to sustain their businesses. So far, it's working.

Zoom in: Rachel Kanter capitalized on her passion for romance, a genre seeing its own boom, and opened Lovestruck Books last month.

• Lovestruck also sells baby clothes, gifts and other merchandise that tend to have bigger profit margins than books, a strategy that has become increasingly common.
• The space includes George Howell Coffee, a cafe where customers can order coffee or wine while they read their new books.

What they're saying: "Most bookstores that are opening nowadays have a cafe, because the margins are so much better on coffee [and] wine," Kanter tells Axios.

• And the welcoming atmosphere draws customers.

Kanter learned other tips and tricks partly from consulting local bookstore owners.

• "People see other indie bookstores opening as a win for the market," she says, "not competition."

Go deeper:

• The pop-up-to-store pipeline
• The co-op option