23. The Bookshelf's Next Chapter

Independent bookstores have been declared "dead" more than once, yet places like The Bookshelf in downtown Kalispell continue to prove otherwise. Dave sits down with new owners Stefan and Tycy Berry to talk about taking the leap from loyal customers to bookstore owners, building a life in the Flathead Valley, and why physical books still create a sense of discovery, connection, and community that digital platforms can't replace.

The conversation explores the realities of owning a local bookstore, from supporting local authors and hosting events to trade-ins, tourism, and cultivating loyal readers. Stefan and Tycy also discuss the evolving reading landscape—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, e-readers, and AI—and why so many people still crave the experience of browsing shelves and finding an unexpected treasure. It's an encouraging look at small business, community, and the enduring value of independent bookstores.

If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with a friend who loves bookstores, and leave a review so more listeners can find Heart of the Flathead.

Heart of the Flathead is brought to you by:

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• Whitefish Financial Services

Heart of the Flathead, is produced by David Wigginton, in partnership with LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at HeartoftheFlathead.com and LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing at lbrbm.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights are reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton by clicking the Send Us a Text link at the top of the episode description. 

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Heart of the Flathead, where we sit down with the change makers, the unstung heroes, and everyday folks who give this place its pulse. If you live here, love here, or just want to know what makes Kalispel and the Valley tick, you're in the right place. And now here's your host, Dave Wigginton.

SPEAKER_04 0:19

Welcome everybody to another episode of Heart of the Flathead. I'm excited to introduce our guests for this episode, Stefan and Tysy Berry, the guest new owners of the used bookstore, the bookshelf in downtown Kalisville. Stefan and Tysy, welcome to Heart of the Flathead. Thank you. Thank you for having that. Let's dive into this a little bit here. I mean, the bookshelf has been around for a bit. Bookstores are obviously been a quite a topical thing here over the past 30 years with the supposed demise of bricks and mortar bookstores and the rise of online platforms like Amazon. But before we dive into that, let's get to know you guys

Stefan's & Tycy's background

SPEAKER_04 0:56

a little bit. You guys have lived in our community here for, gosh, well over 10 years now, and would love to get to know a little about where you're from, maybe some fun life stories you wouldn't mind sharing and how you ended up as owners of a used bookstore on Main Street in downtown Calisbow, Montana, of all places.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Well, I grew up in southern Alberta. I'm a dual citizen. So I was actually born stateside and then moved to Canada and spent most of my years up there. So having citizenship in two countries has kind of informed a lot of my life experiences. I moved back down to the state for college, which is where Stefan and I met. And after college, I don't know, we kind of made a little leap of faith. We were looking at where we wanted to move after college and looked at a couple different states, narrowed it down to Montana, looked at a couple different cities, narrowed it down to Calisbell, and just moved up sight unseen almost. And we stayed in a tent for a week with two young kids. We moved into a studio apartment out in the Big Fork for the next three-ish months before we found a full-time apartment, and we've been here for 14 years. Bought our home 13 years ago, and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

I grew up mostly in Alaska, which is kind of fun. I had to figure out stories of where my love of reading started. We lived for a while, that was probably nine to twelve in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. So like we had no running water, electricity, a a generator that we'd use a couple nights a week of carosing lamps for nighttime reading. In Alaska, there's a lot of nighttime reading. That's part of my adventure. I remember having my lamp in a little cubby room that I shared with my brother, you know, reading late into the night. I remember getting grounded from reading a couple times because I was supposed to be cleaning or doing other stuff, and my parents set my book up somewhere so I could get it back. But yeah, we've we've enjoyed our time in Towspell and how we got the bookstore. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

We've been customers there for years. It's it's a fairly close walk from our house. We walk downtown all the time, and oh, I'd bring the kids up or Stephanie bring the kids up. We got to know the previous owner and for several years, and then one day we walked in to pre-order a book, and the owner told us that she had just listed the business and told us a little bit about it and why she was doing that. And so we left that day thinking, should we buy a bookstore? Because that's kind of the dream. Like we would love that, you know. And so we kicked it around for a little bit, financially, emotionally, and all otherwise, and all the scars just kind of aligned.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

I tell people that went in to buy one book and end up buying all the books. Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 3:55

That's great. So there's a lot to unpack there. A couple things jumped out of me. The living in a tent for a few months with two young kids. How did that go? That must have been quite the uh uniting or dividing experience for a married couple, I would think.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

It was great, actually. So because we'd moved from a college town where finding apartments was super easy. We did not expect the lack of housing availability. Yeah, this is and so my parents lived three hours away. So we did we stayed with them for a couple of weeks just up the other side of the border, and then Stefan got a job down here in Kalisbell where we were gonna be. And so we were like, Well, it's late August, we can stay in a tent, it's not that big a deal. And uh, I loved it. It was one of the best weeks ever. The kids slept great, they played all the time.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

And but she says, kids, we had a two and a half year old and a six-month-old. So they were little kids.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

They slept great. It was a good time. I have nothing but good memories. But then we did get rained out, so then we moved to a motel for a week, and that's when we were able to find the studio apartment.

SPEAKER_03 5:05

But the studio apartment was down in Burndale, though, and so we had one car. So I basically drive into work every day and leave Tysy with two small children in the middle of the travailes of a young married couple, right?

SPEAKER_04 5:18

Yeah, it's that's a lot, a lot of work there. So then, Stefan, the lamp by your bed in Alaska sounds very rustic and very uh 19th century-ish. I mean, honestly. And so that sounds like a great experience. What was the best part about growing up in Alaska and reading that way?

SPEAKER_03 5:35

My brothers and I got to experience a lot of fun things, like just being outside a lot. Like we were outside doing stuff all the time.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Camaraderie with each other.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

Yeah. And then in the winter time, there wasn't as much. I mean, most of our time was spent either cutting wood or you know, in the house kind of reading, doing schoolwork or stuff like that. But I just you had a lot of time to to sit and to read and kind of enjoy. And so that was where I could escape into books as a way to experience the outside world. So yeah. But there's a lot of great things about living up in living in Alaska. We had a good neighbor that would take us, and he taught us how to cross-country ski, and we would go run through the woods on these little trails and stuff and go swimming in ponds.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

It was an Olympic skier too, wasn't he?

SPEAKER_03 6:26

He was competitive skier. I'm not sure if it was Olympic or I can't remember all the details now, but yeah, he was like a pro cross-country skier. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:33

Montana's kind of a good fit from Alaska, right? I mean, it's some similarities and and whatnot. So that's good. So, okay, so then you buy one book and you end up with all the books in the bookstore.

Why buy one book when you can buy them all?

SPEAKER_04 6:44

So it sounds like this kind of just spurred on you. You didn't you weren't like thinking this wasn't a goal in life. So, or was it? Did you always want to own a bookstore in your life?

SPEAKER_03 6:52

It's always been a like a thought, but it was never, oh, let's take active steps to own a bookstore.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Well, and it's not really like you can, at least not in the way that we did, right? The store has to be for sale for you to own it, unless you're gonna start your own, right? And but I remember when Stephanie, the previous owner, purchased it three years ago because I remember seeing the listing when it was for sale back then and thinking, oh, wouldn't that be cool? Wouldn't that be nice? So it kind of has been in the back of our minds for years. It's just the stars kind of all had to come together, all had to align, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

Well, and I mean, haven't done a business before. I've been self-employed for a while, but running a business. I've done work in the retail space before, so I've had some experience there, done sales and things like that, and so working with customers was something familiar, but ultimately we decided not to have imposter syndrome on something like this.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:58

We've seen other people do crazier things. We can run a bookstore.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

And that are higher risk, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_04 8:06

So was it a leap was it a leap of faith, or did you just kind of just seamlessly integrate and buying it and running it at this point?

SPEAKER_03 8:14

Probably a little bit of both probably a leap of faith. Like, is this something I mean to come up with the m with the money to buy the bookstore and then you know, like, hey, is this we're gonna be committed to this now for a while?

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Well, and also we just kind of looked at each other and we and we were like, we've done new things before. We've done hard things before. We're really good at learning how to do things. And so why not? This would bring us joy, it would bring our kids joy. It's a great way to connect with the community as well and bring the community joy, you know. So that was a big part of it as well.

Inside The Bookshelf

SPEAKER_04 8:55

So for for listeners, the bookshelf is on Main Street in downtown Calispel. It's basically across the street from is it the Kalispel Grand Hotel? Is that the Grand Hotel? Right, yeah. Right, yeah. So right across the street from there. So give us a preview or an overview of what the bookshelf is, some unique features about your bookstore, maybe what you carry. I know you carry you have a local section there, so maybe tell us a little bit about that as well.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

Yeah. So yeah, we're right on Main Street, 101 Main Street. We are mostly used books, and the bookshelf's had a long history. I think it's been a used bookstore for around 16 years or so. And before that, it was a new bookstore, actually.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Books West.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Books West, yeah. But yeah, we carry mostly used books, but we do have a section for local authors, which I really love. I get a lot of local authors that come in and talk to me.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

We've had a couple book signings already.

SPEAKER_03 9:47

Yeah. And so we love being able to support, you know, have a place for local authors. There was one local author that for a while, this is before we owned the bookstore, but that we were the only place that carried their book, and now it's expanded out to more places. And so it's fun to be able to support people that have a dream of writing a book and getting it out there to people. We carry a few other things too. We got puzzles and book memorabilia and things like that that are always fun and interesting. We have some local artists that make bookmarks for us, stuff like that. And so people will donate their books for store credit, and it's a great way to cycle if you're done with a book and you want to pass it on. That's a great way to do that.

unknown 10:35

Right.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

And so your clientele, then I imagine, especially based on your experience, is a lot of repeat customers that come in regularly. And then what about new customers? How often do you see those coming in the door, would you say?

SPEAKER_03 10:49

There's a few different types. We have people that come in, you know, once a week and are just always looking for new books. I feel like I have two sweet ladies that are both reading the same series, and so they'll trade unknowingly. They'll read a few books, and then the next one, you know, they'll bring it back in and the other one will grab it. So I have those that come in frequently or some that come in once a month or once a year, they'll see their names pop up. And then we have a lot of tourists that come in, people that are just wandering through Calisbell, going down up and down Main Street, visiting, seeing what we have, and they're really excited when they see a bookstore and they'll come in and talk about, you know, oh, I just I'm getting ready to go on a plane, but I need my book for my plane. Or I had a lady that was visiting and she bought a whole set of encyclopedias and mailed them back home to herself because she was excited, you know, I want something that's tangible and real that I can pass information on to my kids with. But I get a lot of tourists and a lot of local people that come in and some international visits fairly frequently this summer as well. So I've had people from Switzerland and England and France. I think I've had a few Australians in as well, and yeah, and from all over the US.

SPEAKER_04 12:06

Have you guys ever been to a Black Rifle Coffee Company? I know I'm deviating here, but they've got a map up on there, and people come up and they put pins from where they are in the world. And it's a really cool little thing to engage your customer base to

Are bookstores going away?

SPEAKER_04 12:18

get them going. That would be really interesting to see because you know, for all of the hype about bookstores going all the way of the earth, meaning they're just gonna fold, they're not gonna be anymore, bookstores are still, and I think I think music stores too, still are places that attract people that want to come in peruse and expose themselves to a universe of things that they might not naturally find. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_03 12:42

So we have a little chalkboard sign that we put out on the front of the on the sidewalk. And for a while we had world's closest bookstore on there, right? And people loved that with an arrow, and it's like five feet. They were so excited to see a bookstore. Or and right now we have on there come and smell the books. And so many people come in and they'll say that spontaneously themselves, oh, smells so good in here. Uh, books are having a resurgence. I have so many people come in and talk to me about how important books are to them and how I have my Kindle, but I like to have the physical copy. I like to interact with a tangible item. And also with AI and things that are happening now in the world, people are excited to have something that can't change. And also, you can't get ads in a book. And so there's people that they're like, I I want to have books, and there are people that will come and they can buy books elsewhere, but they're like, we want to support you as a pillar of the community as well. And so, yeah, I don't think books are going anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

I read that expecting books and bookstores to disappear because of Kindle Readers, digital AI is like expecting us to stop needing stairs because escalators exist. And I really liked that because yeah, it's good to have technology and innovation, but there's always gonna be a need for the old school, you know, the tangible. Bookstores are one of the oldest uh forms of uh information transference. And I I don't think we're going the way of all the earth.

SPEAKER_04 14:24

Uh I agree with you on that. That is, I mean, it's it's so true. Like there are so many things that have happened in our lifetimes, right? The last 40, 50 years and these technological advancements, but there's still some things that are just human. Like humanity is still real and it's still a real thing. And being able to interact with people, while people may do it less frequently, it still provides something, it fills a need. Having a physical book, having the ability to be somewhere and experience it physically versus digitally fills a need. And I don't know if people realize that. And so it's a it's a really interesting concept though, the stare versus escalator metaphor that you use. I I I really like that a lot.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

To add on to

Coming into a bookstore is an act of community

SPEAKER_03 15:10

that is that the when you come into a small business, a shop, right, and you're interacting with usually me, there's an act of community as you're talking about books. People come and ask me what I'm reading, they'll ask me for recommendations. It's hard to recommend books sometimes just because the people's tastes are so varied. But the act of being able to talk about what you're reading and how it affected you and how it has changed you is also a community-building act. And sharing that experience is something you can't get just by purchasing a book on a Kindle or a digital format.

SPEAKER_04 17:07

How do you guys interact or interface with larger national chains? We've got a Barnes and Noble here, excuse me,

How do you compete with big box and digital booksellers?

SPEAKER_04 17:14

locally. How does that have any impact on your business? Do you build off of each other? And then on top of that, you know, things like Amazon and digital booksellers.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

We are customers of Barnes and Noble ourselves, I guess. Well, there'll be days when I, you know, I'll close up the bookstore and then my children want to go to Barnes and Noble because they want to get a new book that I don't have.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

I think it's different niches, right? For me, like I look at it as like it it fills a different void. Ours is a used local bookstore, right? Barnes and Noble as newer and possibly larger selection, because just they're a bigger store. They can carry more inventory. And Amazon kind of the same way, you know. Sometimes people can't get out and Amazon fills a void that way.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

I I have books that Amazon doesn't have.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

Yeah, and that's true too. Vice versa, right?

SPEAKER_03 18:10

And there's some books that I've checked and they're selling on Amazon for like a hundred dollars when I have it for 15. But people buy books at Barnes Noble and they'll read them and then they'll bring them to me and I'll pass them on again. And so Barnes and Noble still, I don't think it really detracts from us. There's another used bookstore a block from us, and I don't really view them as competition. I view them more collaboratively. Sometimes I don't have a book, and you want to go to Blacktail Mountain Books, they have stuff there, and I'll tell people how to get there and go check it out. And the same thing with the the indie bookstore not far from us, the Good Books bookstore, where we don't have the same inventory many romantic books, and that's what their whole store and business model is, and like go there. So I feel it more collaborative.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:05

So what is the bookshelf's place in our community?

SPEAKER_03 19:10

I think it's a place where

The Bookshelf's place in the community

SPEAKER_03 19:13

you can meet, a place where you can find hidden treasures. There's not a lot of places that you can go. You don't have to buy anything. It's helpful, obviously, if you do, but you can come in and just sit on a chair and read a book for a little bit, or come talk to me about what you're reading. I've had customers in the store. I've talked to one customer about a book, and somebody else hears it and they'll join in. And I've had people make friendships, exchange phone numbers right there in the store because they're both, oh man, you're reading this, I'm reading this, and kind of have some similar interests. It creates community connection, I guess is what is probably the word I'm thinking of.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Sharing stories is one of the most human things we do collectively since the dawn of time, right? And so being able to have a place to encourage that and take part of that is kind of what is nice about having I mean, we've had the bookstore for three months, but that has been a really enjoyable part of it.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Yeah. I have kids come in a couple times a month and they'll draw me pictures and I get to hang them up. Like so I'm I get to meet people and they're excited and sell them a book, and then they'll, you know, once they're done reading it, they'll bring it back and sell it to somebody else, but they'll tell me how it was and the experience they had while they were reading it, and you know, I can talk about what I've been reading. So there's a lot of opportunities there, I think, for connection. And we're looking for other ways to kind of expand those connections.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Ability to connect.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

Ideas. The summer's a busy time, but the winter, I think it'll be more time to kind of look into those those options.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:55

Kind of a gathering place to build community and connection is kind of what I'm interpreting. So you mentioned plans for the future. What what is your vision? What what things do you want to add or expand upon that you're already doing?

SPEAKER_03 21:09

Like I would love to have book clubs or like have a space where people can come and discuss books maybe once a month or a couple times a month. Yeah, we we host the authors of the flathead. They do a big writing conference uh every year, and so we have like an after hours party that they come and talk and buy books, have refreshments and things, but stuff like that for the community I think would also be fun.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

So I like kids' books programs would be fun.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

Yeah. I have a lot of varied interests, and so trying to bring some of those into the bookstore, I think, would be fun. The fantasy or I'm excited for Halloween. I love dressing up for Halloween, so excited to do that during the month of October, bringing different aspects of books into kind of the real world.

SPEAKER_04 22:04

But the world's your canvas almost at this point. You guys can really do so many different things. And I'm excited to see how things develop and evolve at the bookstore and looking forward to observing your growth and progress and being the integral part of our community that you are at this point. Wanted to thank both of you for coming on Heart of the Flathead today. This has been a great conversation and would encourage all of our listeners to stop by and check it out. It's a great bookstore and it's a lot of different things to explore there. But uh before we wrap up today, uh Stefan and Tyson, I wanted to transition to our Flathead 5, which are the five rapid-fire questions we ask all of our guests. And you guys can respond together or you can respond independently. I would encourage independently. I think we would all love to hear your different viewpoints on things, but we'll go ahead and start with the first question. What is your favorite hidden gem in the community?

Flathead 5 Rapid Fire Questions

SPEAKER_03 22:54

I don't know if it's a hidden gem or not, but Benelli's is probably my favorite. Okay, good, good to know. I love, yeah, I love good food.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

I also love Benelli's. I was thinking more like I love Perrin Park. I'll go hiking there in the summer. And round meadows also is one of my favorite places to cross country ski in the winter.

SPEAKER_04 23:17

Alright guys. I know you're not locally native Montanans, but Grizz or Bobcats. That is a good question.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Is it bad if I'm not a football person?

SPEAKER_03 23:28

They have other sports.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

I've I that's that's true, but I've just never thrown my hat in any of the rings.

SPEAKER_03 23:35

Not a big sports ball person other than playing. But I would probably say bobcats at this point.

SPEAKER_04 23:43

Tysy?

SPEAKER_03 23:44

She can be neutral.

SPEAKER_04 23:45

She can be Switzerland. That's okay. She can be Switzerland.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:48

We we we get a lot of those, so that's all good. What's your favorite outdoor activity in the valley?

SPEAKER_01 23:54

I love and I don't get to do this as much as I would like to, but I love floating on the rivers and cross-country skiing in the winter is my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 24:02

Both love to cross country ski and I like to dirt bike when I can.

SPEAKER_04 24:08

What do you know today that you wish you knew when you started out?

SPEAKER_03 24:12

I would say learning to say no to things. You can't do everything. And like there's a lot of times when I want to do everything, and sometimes you have to say no to something good, so that way you can have something better. So that's something I've learned and I'm learning.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

Something I'm learning is that it's not always as serious as it feels. I've always been quite a rule follower and very rigid, and now in my adult years, I'm learning to be a lot more flexible and adaptable, and I'm the adult. I make the rules. I'm not gonna get in trouble for I don't know, dumb things that I used to think if the dishes don't get done this hour, you know, trivial things. So that's something that I'm learning as well.

SPEAKER_04 25:06

That's great. I really like that. You are the adult. You you set the rules. I I enjoy that. So alright guys, when your story's over, what do you want the one or two sentence review on your book to be? This better be good because you guys own a bookstore, so there's a lot of pressure on this question.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

I think connection that I was able to connect with people, that people felt my sincerity. I guess that I I sincerely connect with people and that they are safe in my presence. I think that's something that would be a great review.

SPEAKER_01 25:47

I think mine is something similar. Like I would hope that people would say that I approached life and them, people with curiosity rather than judgment, that I was able to leave people better than I found them.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

Well, guys, I can't thank you enough. This has been great getting to learn a little bit about the bookshelf and about your story. Thank you for coming on Heart of the Flathead and best of luck in your new venture. Thanks so much for having us, really. Appreciate the chat.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

Thanks for listening to this episode of Heart of the Flathead. We'd love to hear your thoughts about today's episode and the podcast in general. You can listen at heart of the flathead.com or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can reach David via the contact page at heartoftheflathead.com or by clicking on the send us feedback link at the top of the episode description in your favorite podcast app. Heart of the Flathead is produced by David Wigginton in partnership with Left Brain Right Brain Studios. Listeners can find the podcast online at Heartoftheflathead.com and LeftBrain Right Brain Studios at LBRBstudios.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead Podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton at heart of the flathead.com with your request. The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or the production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. The podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.