During the time he lived in Tucson, first as a student and then as a young professional, Marty Valencia lived just west of the university, a stoneās throw from Roskruge School, three blocks from the Dairy Queen, andĀ ā more importantlyĀ ā a 10-minute walk from Tucsonās oldest bookstore: The Book Stop.
He became a regular there, which is why a short Instagram post in November caught his eye and triggered his imagination.
āIn case you have not been in the store recently,ā it read, āwe wanted to share that, sadly, the Book Stop will be closing permanently on December 31st.ā
Startled by the news, Valencia wondered if there might still be time to edit the storeās next chapter.
āI called them that day to see if they might consider selling the store,ā he recalled. āIād been looking at other opportunities, but to me this one was special. I knew right away I was interested if they were.ā
Conversations began just after Thanksgiving, and by mid-January a plot twist was well underway. The sale was finalized Feb. 2, meaning the venerable old bookshop at 214 N. Fourth Ave. will remain open after all.
āIāve always dreamed of owning a bookstore, and owning this bookstore is a dream come true,ā Valencia said this week. āIt just feels like something I was meant to do.ā
Maybe it was, at that.
Raised in Surprise, a northwest suburb of Phoenix, Valenciaās first job was at the Cholla branch of the Phoenix Public Library. He later spent seven years as a librarian at Pima College, then five as a manager at the Changing Hands Bookstore on Camelback Road in Phoenix.
āI moved back to Phoenix 10 years ago to help take care of my parents,ā Valencia explained. āI hadnāt been in Tucson much since the pandemic, but I came down for the Loft Film Fest in November. The day after I got home, I saw the post on Instagram. It got me thinking how much I liked Tucson, how much I remembered about the store.ā
One of his most prized possessions is a facsimile of āThe Book of Kellsā ā a gift from a friend who found it there.
First opened in 1967, The Book Stop is still what neighborhood bookstores used to be, with some 50,000 used books jammed into 2,600 square feet of floor space. No bells, no whistles, just books, vintage maps, old posters and long-forgotten playbills.
Valencia said The Book Stopās name and address will remain the same, but he is weighing ways he might freshen the business model some.
āWeāll want to keep the current feel as much as we can,ā he said. āThe character of the place is special. Itās why we all love it, but I can see a coffee cart in the store. I can see at least some new books. I canāt imagine owning a bookstore without the latest Colson Whitehead titles in it!ā
Valencia also hopes to establish the store as a hub for local authors and a place readers can discover diverse, new voices.
Tucsonās oldest bookstore, The Book Stop atĀ 214 N. Fourth Ave., gets to write a new chapter under a new owner after almost closing.Ā
āMalvern Books in Austin used to have a sign in the window that said, āLeastsellers Sold Here,ā and I liked the sound of that. One of the ways independent and community-focused bookstores can shine is to help new voices be heard.ā
He then gazed directly across the street, where the new Ari on Fourth apartment complex is home to more than 500 renters.
āIt would be good to meet some of those people, too,ā Valencia said with a smile.
The Book Stop is now closed, as the transition is finalized, but Valencia hopes to re-open in mid-March ā in time for the Fourth Avenue Street Fair March 20-22.
No one is happier with recent developments than Claire Fellows, who first went to work for the store in 1977, paired with fellow staff member Tina Bailey to buy it in 1992, and has been there almost every day since Bailey died five years ago.
āThis has been part of me for a long time, and itās good to know it will go on,ā she confessed. āI didnāt want to close the store, I just knew it was time. Time to move on, time for me to retire.ā
Fellows said she would stay on for a month or so to help Valencia establish a routine, and then start planning that long-delayed vacation.
āPeople ask if Iām feeling sad or nostalgic about leaving,ā Fellows said, ābut with our year-end financials, taxes, and now this, I havenāt had time to really think about. Iām sure it will hit me one of these days. Itās been a good run.ā