Schuler Books goes downtown

[fotoman311]

I would love to have the store open for some evening hours, and certainly understand the bummer feeling. We take this seriously but also need to be prudent.

A lot of bookstores have come and gone in downtown GR over the years. Our first goal is to make this store profitable enough so we can keep it open for the long haul. I'd like to see it going strong 10 years from now.

To be open in the evenings, we would have to add staffing, which of course adds cost. Obviously, to cover that we would have to do some business. If, as someone said earlier, the downtown is dead in the evenings, there might not be enough business to pay the expense of staying open. So we are starting out conservatively.

The way we have approached hours at our stores in the past is to watch the patterns that develop. If there are consistently a number of people in the store at closing time, then we adjust the schedule. That is how, at the 28th Street store, we went from closing at 6:00 on Sundays to closing at 9:00. We are very open to adjusting to what the 'market will bear". So we will be watching how things evolve.

Also, there may be a good opportunity to experiment with some evening hours during the holiday season. That's a short term commitment, and might give us some feel for how evening hours could work at other times of the year. I'd be curious to know which evenings seem most important to people.

As always, thanks for the interest and input.

Bill Fehsenfeld

I understand your conservatism and would love to see Schuler's there for a long time. Other than needing more visibility from the Monroe Center side, I think it's an awesome location.

I will just say that my wife and I walked down to the art museum from our house just east of Heritage Hill for their Friday night event. We didn't want to pay 10 dollars for their fancy hors d'oeuvre buffet, so we thought we'd head over to the new bookstore and get something from Chapbrook. We were sad when it was closed. I also had a couple of books that I'm interested in purchasing. I can maybe stop there right after work, but my wife could not make it very easily to join me because someone has to let our dogs out.

I would think that the event crowd at the art museum and van andel would provide some people traffic on weekend nights. There were definitely some people out and about.

-Josh

[bfehsenfeld]

I understand your conservatism and would love to see Schuler's there for a long time. Other than needing more visibility from the Monroe Center side, I think it's an awesome location.

I will just say that my wife and I walked down to the art museum from our house just east of Heritage Hill for their Friday night event. We didn't want to pay 10 dollars for their fancy hors d'oeuvre buffet, so we thought we'd head over to the new bookstore and get something from Chapbrook. We were sad when it was closed. I also had a couple of books that I'm interested in purchasing. I can maybe stop there right after work, but my wife could not make it very easily to join me because someone has to let our dogs out.

I would think that the event crowd at the art museum and van andel would provide some people traffic on weekend nights. There were definitely some people out and about.

-Josh

There's a good chance that we will be giving friday and saturday evening hours a try during the holiday season. This will give us a chance to see what kind of traffic is there. Stay tuned.

[Veloise]

There's a good chance that we will be giving friday and saturday evening hours a try during the holiday season. This will give us a chance to see what kind of traffic is there. Stay tuned.

Your spread of gifts and things is *much* better than the GRAM's.

[in-town vacation next week, moving in on Monday!]

[suydam]

I made my first visit on Thursday...

Parking in the ramp (Free 60 minutes) was a breeze and makes visiting this store almost as easy as the 28th St. store.

Book selection worked for me and I'll be back to do some Christmas shopping next week.

What didn't work was the magazine selection. I went there for some cheese-ball parenting magazine (Cookie) that my wife needed to give to someone else to inform them of a gift subscription or something. There were no lifestyle-type magazines at all and the racks had that same half-empty look that I always hated at Riverbank.

At any rate, I was annoyed at the light selection and ended up driving to the 28th St. store (to my chagrin....downtown is much more convenient) and they had the selection I know and love (and the cheese-ball parenting magazine I actually needed).

[bfehsenfeld]

I made my first visit on Thursday...

Parking in the ramp (Free 60 minutes) was a breeze and makes visiting this store almost as easy as the 28th St. store.

Book selection worked for me and I'll be back to do some Christmas shopping next week.

What didn't work was the magazine selection. I went there for some cheese-ball parenting magazine (Cookie) that my wife needed to give to someone else to inform them of a gift subscription or something. There were no lifestyle-type magazines at all and the racks had that same half-empty look that I always hated at Riverbank.

At any rate, I was annoyed at the light selection and ended up driving to the 28th St. store (to my chagrin....downtown is much more convenient) and they had the selection I know and love (and the cheese-ball parenting magazine I actually needed).

I apologize for the magazine selection. We had planned on opening with a full selection, but our magazine distributor dropped the ball. Everything is now set up and the section will be filling in significantly over the next few weeks. Obviously, it won't be as large as 28th St., but it should be much better. (Don't know if we'll have the cheese-ball parenting mag however. )

Bill Fehsenfeld

[suydam]

I appologize for the magazine selection. We had planned on opening with a full selection, but our magazine distributor dropped the ball. Everything is now set up and the section will be filling in significantly over the next few weeks. Obviously, it won't be as large as 28th St., but it should be much better. (Don't know if we'll have the cheese-ball parenting mag however )

Bill Fehsenfeld

Normally 'Cookie' would not be on my list of "must buy" Magazines.

Glad to hear there are plans for a good periodical section. The store looks great, by the way. I was glad you kept the Grand River mural on the wall of the kids section.

[seely]

I have to say--I like the idea of a locally owned bookstore, but I personally am boycotting the Chapbook Cafe. The majority of their workers make less than minimum wage since they base their pay off a ridiculous tip scale that is FAR from reality. They even sat down with their lawyers when the wage increase took effect and hammered out how they could avoid paying their employees more. Someone quite close to me worked there for two years and was getting paid less than minimum wage on a consistent basis even after "tips". When this person asked for a raise, he/she was told that the $0.25 increase they were getting as a result of the min. wage going up was "raise enough".

[gvsusean]

I have to say--I like the idea of a locally owned bookstore, but I personally am boycotting the Chapbook Cafe. The majority of their workers make less than minimum wage since they base their pay off a ridiculous tip scale that is FAR from reality. They even sat down with their lawyers when the wage increase took effect and hammered out how they could avoid paying their employees more. Someone quite close to me worked there for two years and was getting paid less than minimum wage on a consistent basis even after "tips". When this person asked for a raise, he/she was told that the $0.25 increase they were getting as a result of the min. wage going up was "raise enough".

The very minimum a "tipped" employee will ever earn is the minimum wage. this is why: If a tip worker makes 2.65 per hour and lets say averages 3 more dollars per hour, the business is forced by law to increase their hourly rate to equal minimum wage. i.e. if mininmum wage is not worth doing the job then they should find new jobs.

[GRDadof3]

I have to say--I like the idea of a locally owned bookstore, but I personally am boycotting the Chapbook Cafe. The majority of their workers make less than minimum wage since they base their pay off a ridiculous tip scale that is FAR from reality. They even sat down with their lawyers when the wage increase took effect and hammered out how they could avoid paying their employees more. Someone quite close to me worked there for two years and was getting paid less than minimum wage on a consistent basis even after "tips". When this person asked for a raise, he/she was told that the $0.25 increase they were getting as a result of the min. wage going up was "raise enough".

I've never had anybody "wait" on me at the Chapbook Cafe downtown, just filling coffee orders behind the counter. Why are they considered "servers" I wonder?

[bfehsenfeld]

I've never had anybody "wait" on me at the Chapbook Cafe downtown, just filling coffee orders behind the counter. Why are they considered "servers" I wonder?

Just to set the record straight, nobody at the Chapbook Cafe makes less than minimum wage - that would be illegal. GVSUSean explained it correctly (although the base wage at Chapbook Cafe is way, way higher than what he mentions). They get a base wage plus tips. If that doesn't bring them to the minimum wage, they get extra to bring them up. In cases where tips bring them above minimum, then they're above minimum. People who have gotten raises above the starting rate are always given enough adjustment to keep them that amount above the starting rate people, regardless of tips. Confusing, I know - but what was said above is just plain false.

FYI, anyone who works serving food to people is classified by the state as a "server" whether they are behind a counter, or wait on tables. Booksellers, of course, are on a totally different plan.

[bfehsenfeld]

I would love to have the store open for some evening hours, and certainly understand the bummer feeling. We take this seriously but also need to be prudent.

A lot of bookstores have come and gone in downtown GR over the years. Our first goal is to make this store profitable enough so we can keep it open for the long haul. I'd like to see it going strong 10 years from now.

To be open in the evenings, we would have to add staffing, which of course adds cost. Obviously, to cover that we would have to do some business. If, as someone said earlier, the downtown is dead in the evenings, there might not be enough business to pay the expense of staying open. So we are starting out conservatively.

The way we have approached hours at our stores in the past is to watch the patterns that develop. If there are consistently a number of people in the store at closing time, then we adjust the schedule. That is how, at the 28th Street store, we went from closing at 6:00 on Sundays to closing at 9:00. We are very open to adjusting to what the 'market will bear". So we will be watching how things evolve.

Also, there may be a good opportunity to experiment with some evening hours during the holiday season. That's a short term commitment, and might give us some feel for how evening hours could work at other times of the year. I'd be curious to know which evenings seem most important to people.

As always, thanks for the interest and input.

Bill Fehsenfeld

For those who are interested, we will be open until 8:00 every Friday and Saturday until Christmas. Also, opening an hour earlier on Saturday, at 10:00 am. Hope this helps!

Bill Fehsenfeld

[GRDadof3]

For those who are interested, we will be open until 8:00 every Friday and Saturday until Christmas. Also, opening an hour earlier on Saturday, at 10:00 am. Hope this helps!

Bill Fehsenfeld

Thank you for the update Bill!

[Allison Slater]

Just bought a copy of The Upanishads there yesterday, and halfway back home I realised I forgot to buy a bookmark! When I reached my destination on the bus and reached in the bag for a receipt to use as a bookmark, I discovered a complimentary Schuler's bookmark! Not sure if all bookstores do that, as I used to buy mostly from Amazon (there is no bookstore back in Wayland) but I was overjoyed.

I'll be back again sometime to buy the Bhagavad Gita (unless I can special order the full Mahabharata from the downtown store.)

[fotoman311]

For those who are interested, we will be open until 8:00 every Friday and Saturday until Christmas. Also, opening an hour earlier on Saturday, at 10:00 am. Hope this helps!

Bill Fehsenfeld

Thanks Bill! We were in there last night after the tree lighting and it didn't look like there was any action to close up when 6 had rolled around. I wondered if the hours had been extended. We will be back again at some point.

Thanks,

Josh

[bfehsenfeld]

Thanks Bill! We were in there last night after the tree lighting and it didn't look like there was any action to close up when 6 had rolled around. I wondered if the hours had been extended. We will be back again at some point.

Thanks,

Josh

For those who have asked - we have decided to continue, after the holidays, staying open until 8:00 on Friday evenings.

Thanks, Bill Fehsenfeld

[Prankster]

For those who have asked - we have decided to continue, after the holidays, staying open until 8:00 on Friday evenings.

Thanks, Bill Fehsenfeld

Thanks again for taking the risk and opening up shop in our downtown. At the expense of your Alpine store, I made sure to give all my holiday business to your downtown store. The longer hours will be an even greater benefit for us that make a habit of patronizing downtown businesses. Thanks again.

[Allison Slater]

Awesome, great to hear!

I'll be back sometime this month (January) to buy another book or two.

[Eridony]

Great news, I got a couple Shuler's gift cards for Christmas so I'll be checking out the new store soon!

[Veloise]

Summer Berry Stack Bar. Don't question, just get it.

I'm told it's from Jamie's Cheesecakes and it sells out quickly. Can't imagine why...

[Avocado]

According to Chris Knape, Schuler's is getting closer to getting a liquor license.

[Eridony]

According to Chris Knape, Schuler's is getting closer to getting a liquor license.

Finally I can combine two hobbies in to one. Reading and getting intoxicated! I hope they extend their store hours until 2am if they get this license. Then I'll never have to worry about drinking around illiterate people again!

[Parhelion]

While I enjoy Schuler Books and will continue to shop there, I don't think it's necessary for it to have a liquor license, it's kind of a waste. I think the City is not making good, long-term decisions with these redevelopment liquor licenses.

[MAU]

While I enjoy Schuler Books and will continue to shop there, I don't think it's necessary for it to have a liquor license, it's kind of a waste. I think the City is not making good, long-term decisions with these redevelopment liquor licenses.

I have a feeling it's for wine for events.

I also wonder if they'll begin using the space in the lower level - they own that too, right?

[ccbarnes]

While I enjoy Schuler Books and will continue to shop there, I don't think it's necessary for it to have a liquor license, it's kind of a waste. I think the City is not making good, long-term decisions with these redevelopment liquor licenses.

Why is that?

I think it's awesome to have a drink and read a good book.

Maybe grab some wine and read the paper after work.

[plee30]

While I enjoy Schuler Books and will continue to shop there, I don't think it's necessary for it to have a liquor license, it's kind of a waste. I think the City is not making good, long-term decisions with these redevelopment liquor licenses.

What's next, the DDA will approve a liquor license for Subway? Retail, retail, and more retail. I think that would be better served downtown, especially as the city tries to build the convention business. What is a convention visitor to take from their trip to Grand Rapids? Its downtown has some great bars and restaurants (world class even), but I have to drive 20 minutes ($25 cab ride one way) to the mall to do any shopping? And the stores are no different than what I have at home?

Nonetheless, since Schuler's is one of the few, if not only, evening retail stores downtown, why not compete with the other bars and restaurants for a person's dollars?

Downtown will hopefully get there, but in my opinion, the emphasis should be focused on increasing development of services truly lacking. The downtown is certainly not lacking places to get a drink as evidence shows many current places either close early or don't bother opening the doors at all certain nights.