Book store takes over vacant spot

A customer at B Street Books was delighted to find several titles on California history Tuesday morning.

It was his first time in the used book store, which opened in downtown San Mateo May 16. The customer told one of the bookstore owners, Steve Feldman, he formerly considered Burlingame Book Browse to be his favorite used book store.

That comment brought a smile to Feldman’s face.

"I owned that place,” Feldman said. "It closed in 1999.”

The customer then commented on another used book store in Menlo Park.

Feldman smiled again.

"I owned that place, too.”

Buying and selling used books is about the only way Feldman knows how to make money, he said.

"I learned it from my mom,” he said. "She had a mail-order book business when I was kid and I used to help her out.”

Feldman, 50, has now partnered with his old college roommate, Lew Cohen, to open his third used book store on the Peninsula in 20 years.

It might seem like the two men are "driving against traffic” by opening up a used book store during these tough economic times but a series of events in a span of about six weeks led them to downtown San Mateo.

Feldman and Cohen were encouraged to look into renting an old rundown storefront in downtown by a friend who owns B Street and Vine across the street.

B Street Books now occupies the old Baywood Theater building at 333 S. B St., whose last permanent tenant was Rite Aid more than six years ago.

The 12,500-square-foot retail space sat empty for years except during Halloween, when it was rented out to a costume seller. Most recently it was the temporary home to Wine Globe.

Feldman and Cohen struck a deal with the building’s owner, B Street Development, to open their store temporarily. The bookstore occupies about 2,000 square feet of the bottom floor of the building while the development company moves forward with new plans with the city to eventually remodel the building into a mixed-use artists marketplace with outdoor dining.

"It’s great to have a storefront on that site,” said Laura Snideman, economic development and business assistance manager for the city of San Mateo. "There’s a general excitement over the book store’s opening, and the city should see a little bit of tax revenue from it.”

Cohen’s wife Kelly also works at the book store and his two sons will probably work there this summer.

"It’s going to be a family affair,” Cohen said.

Neal Yung, with B Street Development, says he anticipates this will be the last time the building will be vacant for a long period of time.

"There’s been ownership changes over the years and different ideas floated to the city by different groups,” Yung said. "It’s why the storefront has remained vacant. This should be the last time that happens.”

Although Feldman is not new to the book business, he is new to downtown San Mateo.

"The neighbors have been great. The owners of Bean Street Coffee welcomed us on our first day and brought us some drinks. The furniture store owner has stopped by. Everybody seems happy the storefront isn’t empty anymore,” he said.

Ken Choury, one of the owners of Bean Street Coffee, is thankful the bookstore has moved in next to his shop.

"It was an eyesore for so long. I like what they’ve done with it so far. I hope they make it. If they do well, we do well,” Choury said.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.