A week before Fireside Books and More opened its doors as the only independent bookstore in Redwood City, its owners Andrew Johnson and Taylor Kubota got married amid empty bookshelves filled with personal mementos.
A day later, around 9,000 books came in, and the newlyweds have spent what might be considered their honeymoon time in a corner shop in downtown Redwood City, a fact they said feels like an apt reflection of the “the life we want to live.”
“It all fit together,” Johnson said about the timing of it all.
“It’s about betting on the right things — betting on community and betting on the person that I love and getting our life in order with our values,” Johnson said. “Marrying Taylor and opening a bookstore, those things weren’t unrelated.”
It was particularly special to begin the journey of running an independent bookstore by sharing vows, Johnson said. Flower arrangements from the intimate ceremony remain on the walls as decor.
“It’s about living the kind of life that we want to live,” Johnson said. “That life is rooted in our community, that life is local, that life is about sharing our love and our passion with people.”
The bookstore opened Feb. 1, and its first weekend was packed with locals interested in the new storefront in the vibrant downtown. Located at 2421 Broadway, the shop is at a currently unmarked corner, but signs are coming soon, Kubota said.
A strong turnout in its first few days has given the new owners hope that this choice in their lives was a good one.
“We think the way that this community came out for us during opening weekend and throughout this whole process, we think we’ll have a chance to be here for a while,” Johnson said. “We are over the moon with our opening weekend.”
When Johnson told Kubota that he wanted to leave his job in medical technology and open a bookstore about a year ago, she was initially surprised, but quickly realized it was the right pivot to make.
“For me it was supporting his dream of opening a bookstore, but a bookstore is my favorite kind of story so I wasn’t ever going to fight that idea,” Kubota said.
The pair credits the other for the reason the bookstore came to be — Johnson said his wife is the one with the love for books, Kubota said her husband is the one with the love for Redwood City and entrepreneurial spirit.
“For me, it’s about Redwood City,” Johnson said. “There were good days with that job and there were bad days, but this is a little closer to my heart and a little closer to the community that we have grown to love,”
The driving force of opening a bookstore specifically, though, is wanting to have influence in the battle for attention, Johnson said.
“People’s attention has become this commodity to be mined,” he said. “In a world where your attention is monetized, just sitting and reading is like an act of rebellion. It’s pretty cool that we get to help with that here.”
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With social media in particular, there are many things “competing for our attention,” Johnson said, and he has noticed that “people are just a little sick of it” and looking to return to analog things. There is a sense of responsibility Johnson feels is providing a space to allow people that opportunity.
“What we’re doing here is a nice thing and a love thing, but it’s sort of a battle that we’re fighting too and we’re fighting it in our way,” Johnson said.
Adding to the community that Johnson and Kubota have called home for over five years is one of their goals. Meeting with downtown business owners and connecting with similar bookstores across the Peninsula has helped guide the owners as they’ve prepared to open.
Between Peninsula Books in Daly City and Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, Johnson felt there was a lack of independent retail new book stores in San Mateo County and knew there was a need to be met. Owners at both of the other stores have helped Fireside establish its footing, and abundant resources for independent bookstores have also helped.
“We are so incredibly lucky with the resources that are available these days,” Johnson said. “People want us to succeed.”
The shop’s name is an homage to a bookstore Johnson frequented while growing up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Its interior is quant, but has still made room for two red vintage seats with swans etched in the legs, placed in the style of conversation chairs with a chess board table in between. A children’s dedicated space is also set up in the back of the store.
“We really do want it to be a palace where people can feel like they can take a break and relax whether that's coming here after school or while waiting for the train,” said Kubota, who picked the vintage chairs and chess table off of Facebook Marketplace. “We hope it’s cozy, relaxing, welcoming.”
The owners want to emphasize the space as a place for locals to hang out, meet new people and spend time.
“There will always be people who will tell you you can’t just have people just sit there, they’re not going to buy anything,” Johnson said. “But people have told me I can’t do a lot of things. We hope people come and hang out with us.”
Purchases will always be encouraged, though, and Johnson said he understands the risk of opening an independently owned shop.
“There is no such thing as a sure thing,” he said. “The best thing that we can do is get in the fight and see what happens. We know it’s a swing, but we think it’s the right swing. I think when you do the right thing, right things happen.”
The shop is currently open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, closed Mondays.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 106
(1) comment
Good news. Redwood City needs this. Hope it encourages local authors.
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