Twice Sold Tales on Mercer Street is a used bookstore that has its own story to tell: one that includes cats among its characters, and one that reflects the often-precarious survival rates of independent bookstores.
Twice Sold Tales last May replaced Title Wave Books, which closed in the same location after almost two decades in the neighborhood. That was a lucky break for Twice Sold Tales owner Jamie Lutton.
"I'd been thinking about putting in a bookstore on Lower Queen Anne," she said, "but I didn't want to compete with [the Title Wave owner]." So when the space became available, Lutton added, she jumped at the opportunity.
Then, last December, another opportunity presented itself when a framing shop right next door went out of business. So Lutton expanded into the space - a process that still hasn't been completed.
But one neighborhood's gain has turned out to be another's loss. Lutton is a part owner of a Twice Sold Tales in the University District, and she also had an interest in one in Fremont that recently became Ophelia's Books, Lutton said.
However, the Richland, Wash., native also owns a Twice Sold Tales on Capitol Hill, which until just lately was open all night on Fridays "unless there was rioting."
But the store is up for sale or heading for closure in the next three to five months, she said. "I haven't ruled out moving the Capitol Hill store elsewhere," she added. The decision to close or sell the store is a recent but necessary one, according to Lutton.
Rent at the Capitol Hill store is twice what she pays for the Queen Anne space, the building is coming down eventually to make way for Sound Transit, and crime is getting out of hand in the neighborhood, she said. "There's just not a shopping district anymore." In addition, Lutton noted, Half Price Books on Capitol Hill is a stiff competitor, and she was losing a lot of money.
But Lutton literally took part of the Capitol Hill store with her after she recently reduced the space she was in. The salvage includes a gigantic round doorway (see photo) that connects the two sections of the Queen Anne store, and there is a smaller round entrance about four feet up the connecting wall at the back of the store.
The smaller door is for the store cats: Sparks, Butch and Amber. "The cats are the real owners, trust me," smiled Lutton, who explained that the critters are an important part of the business.
"They make it a more homelike atmosphere," she said. Plus, Amber in particular has proved to be especially adept at catching mice in the store, Lutton said.
There are also cats at the Capitol Hill store, and one of the five, Marco, may be moving to Queen Anne, she said. People are begging her to let them adopt the other four, Lutton added.
Lutton graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in anthropology, but it was a trip overseas that led to her career choice. "I decided to be a bookseller after I went to Paris," she said, fondly remembering all the small bookstores in the French capital.
She opened her first bookstore in 1987 in the Broadway Market on Capitol Hill and moved to the current - but soon-to-be gone - location in 1990, Lutton said.
She concedes that running a bookstore is tough in a time when more and more people nationally are watching television rather than reading books. But Seattle is a bit of an anomaly, according to Lutton. "People here read for pleasure," she said. "People who read are attracted here."
Lutton said she gets her books from people who are moving and from book sales. She also has agents who bring them in, and Lutton goes to a business in the SODO area to rescue books that are destined to be pulped. "I go personally to that [business]."
More bookshelves will be added to the Queen Anne store, Lutton promised. "The stock is going up by 35 percent over the summer," she said of books in all categories - including collectibles.
Lutton said personal service is a hallmark of her bookstores. "I'll do anything to find books for people," she stressed. "If I don't have it, I can find it online or track it down from people in town."
She also said her employees are a dedicated bunch, but their numbers will decline with the loss of the Capitol Hill store. "I have seven or eight right now," Lutton said of staffers. "I'll probably be able to keep four."
There is one bright spot connected to closing the Capitol Hill store. Lutton said the change will free up a lot of her time. "So I'll be a lot more hands-on," she said, adding that hours at Twice Sold Tales will be extended to 11 at night.
"That's the plan."
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.< /em>[[In-content Ad]]
