This Modesto couple love books so much, they’re opening a new indie bookstore together

When Yesterday’s Books closed late last year after more than four decades of serving Central Valley readers, Modesto book lovers mourned its loss.

But one longtime Modesto couple did more than just mourn the city’s only independently owned general interest bookstore. They got busy planning. Now, their work is turning into a new indie bookstore for the city.

The husband-and-wife team of Will DeBoard and Paula Treick DeBoard plan to open Bookish, selling new and used books, next year. The couple already have landed on a location in one of Modesto’s most established shopping centers, Roseburg Square.

“We kept saying, ‘We wish Modesto had a bookstore. Why doesn’t someone open a bookstore?’’ Treick DeBoard said. “And then we said, ‘Why can’t we do this?’”

In February, they started researching what it would take to open a bookstore themselves. They originally had hoped to find a downtown location, but then the space in Roseburg Square (formerly home of the Naomi Mae garden decor shop) became available.

The retail complex first opened in 1956 as the Ulrich Shopping Center and switched to its current name in 1979. Some other current tenants include O’Brien’s Market, Yogurt Mill and the newly expanded Mobaak Aromatherapy Shoppe.

This will be the first business the Modesto residents, who have both lived in the city for more than 30 years, have embarked on — either together or separately. But it is not either’s first entry into the world of books or writing.

Treick DeBoard is an author and writing lecturer at the University of California, Merced. She has had four novels published by HarperCollins imprints, the most recent being 2018’s “Here We Lie.” DeBoard was a Modesto Bee sportswriter from 1992 to 2009 and now works as the assistant commissioner for the CIF-Sac-Joaquin (the governing body for high school athletics in the region).

They’re both die-hard book lovers and hope to translate their pastime into a profession — or, at very least, a very involved side hustle as they both plan to keep their day jobs for now.

To get started, they’ve relied on advice from other local small business owners, their own experiences visiting indie bookstores across the state and beyond — something they always do when traveling — and a boot camp program with the Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center. Treick DeBoard also spent this summer interning at the A Seat at the Table bookstore in Elk Grove.

The DeBoards got the keys to their 2,400-square-foot future bookshop space last week and have launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to help with the renovations and other needs for the new enterprise. The 30-day campaign has a lofty goal of $100,000, but it allows them to collect their donations regardless of whether they hit their target. They offer a variety of perks for each donation level, from social media shoutouts to stickers, tote bags and launch party invites.

The couple also said that no matter how much they ultimately raise, they’re committed to making Bookish a reality. So far, they’ve collected around $10,000 toward their goal.

“We’ve been really overwhelmed by the community. We expected our friends to come on board with us and support us. But all these people we’d never met or heard of have been sending us messages about how excited they are about this,” Treick DeBoard said. “We are hoping the crowdfunding is the community buying into it, and then we could do even more with this.”

Once open, they want the shop to stock a split of about 40% new and 60% used books. That will include new arrivals, best sellers and general interest fiction and nonfiction books. Once launched, they will also start a book buying/store credit system for people to bring in their used books.

Ultimately, they want the shop to be a gathering space for book clubs and community groups. And, don’t worry, there will be comfy spots to sit and read.

The space has two rooms: a large front room that will be transformed into the general bookstore and a smaller back room that is slated to become a children’s area. The shop will have shelving, tables, reading areas and a coffee cart. The DeBoards hope to also sell artwork, cards, crafts and other items from local artists.

The coffee side of the business won’t be extensive (the in-store Starbucks in the neighboring O’Brien’s prohibits other businesses from having coffee as more than 30% of their sales), but they hope it will be an incentive for people to hang out, browse and enjoy the space.

“I think this will be an almost ‘If you build it they will come’ situation,” DeBoard said, referencing the 1989 baseball classic “Field of Dreams.” “(Roseburg Square) is already where you go to eat at a restaurant or visit other shops, and it will hopefully be the place you go to buy books. “

The pair are aiming for a March 2024 opening, though that could change as the process moves forward. They already have amassed a large number of used books, which they’re excited to get out of storage in their house. And they’ve signed on with the American Booksellers Association.

They will have online ordering through bookshop.org and audiobook purchases through libro.fm, though neither are active yet. This Halloween, they’ll attend their first public event, giving away used books at the First United Methodist Trunk or Treat event.

While they know that once open, the city’s other general interest bookseller, Barnes & Noble, will technically be their competition, they aspire to be more for the community.

“We’re not really worried that we’re putting them out of business,” Treick DeBoard joked. “But our place will be more of a gathering place. ...We envision this as a space for many different things.”