Old Town bookstore keeps pages turning after 25 years

Feb. 12—A family-owned business that carries a wealth of books written by New Mexicans or based on the Land of Enchantment continues to thrive after 25 years.

Treasure House Books & Gifts, 2012 S. Plaza St. NW, is celebrating its silver anniversary this month.

"First of all, our store's only 500 square feet, it's a little tiny thing," owner John Hoffsis said about what makes his bookstore unique. "And we specialize in books on New Mexico and books by New Mexico authors. And that's what has made us stand out. We have appealed to both tourists and locals in the area because of that."

Hoffsis estimates the store carries about 1,000 to 2,000 books, but has not taken a physical count of the number of reads at Treasure House. The bookstore hosts local authors for signings and readings almost every weekend.

Authors appearing at the bookstore over the years have included Anne Hillerman, daughter of famed author Tony Hillerman, as well as Max Evans and Steven F. Havel.

"I have a lot of them that are regular signers, a lot of mystery authors and people who do a lot of children's books," Hoffsis said. "Right now, memoirs are very popular. So we have a lot of people who do memoirs and local history."

The quaint space in the heart of Old Town has been part of the Hoffsis family since 1974. John Hoffsis' father, Jim Hoffsis, served in the Army and was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, prior to the Korean War. He later took a job at a Chevron oil refinery and worked there for 20 years. After John Hoffsis was born, his parents traveled throughout the Rocky Mountain region and lived numerous places, including Albuquerque; Santa Fe; Abilene, Texas; El Paso; Denver; and Billings, Montana.

"He decided that he liked Albuquerque the best and wanted to start his own business," John Hoffsis said of his father. "He liked Old Town, so he came here and started this as a little gift and jewelry store. It was just called Treasure House at the time. And in 1999, he and my mom decided they wanted to retire."

At the time, John Hoffsis had a small bookstore called Stagecoach Books & Gifts on Old Town Road NW.

"It was another property that my father had bought," John Hoffsis said. "And at that time, he said, 'Well, why don't you put your bookstore over here at Treasure House?' So I just basically moved all the books over here and been here ever since."

John Hoffsis and his wife, Susan, run the small bookstore.

Jim Hoffsis helped his son with the bookstore and also raised the flags in Old Town's plaza every day until his passing in October 2021.

"He was out here all the time," John Hoffsis said of this father. "He was very well-respected... He was a big help. He would greet people and so on and so forth. And now it's pretty much my wife and I running (the bookstore). We've had to cut back the hours a little bit, but I think we have stayed around because we're not your average bookstore. We do things a little more old-fashioned."

Longtime customer Robin Gomez has been going to the bookstore since it opened. She was introduced to Treasure Books & Gifts by her uncle, who loved the store.

What impressed Gomez about the store is Jim and John Hoffsis' knowledge of every book in the store. She also admires the bookstore's support of local writers.

"I never met a bookstore owner who read every book that came into the store," Gomez said. "They have local authors. They have a wonderful selection of Southwest education as far as the area, the people, the indigenous people, cooking and all kind of stuff."

Treasure House keeps things simple.

"We still just have a cash drawer and sales slips and stuff like that," John Hoffsis said. "We don't have 500 employees. It's pretty much just us. I pride ourselves on being able to know every book that we have in the store. Because not only am I the owner, I'm also the main clerk, and the book buyer and everything else."