Popular Hunterdon bookshop saves live events after noise complaint. Here's how

FRENCHTOWN – The story of the Frenchtown Bookshop has a happy ending.

In October, the borough's zoning officer wrote to bookshop co-owners Scott Sheldon and Barbara de Wilde that the bookshop’s popular outdoor concerts, hosted in its leafy backyard, were not allowed. A neighbor had complained.

Sheldon and de Wilde were shocked when they received the letter.

“People are making it sound like we put Shea Stadium in the middle of Frenchtown,” Sheldon said. “We do these outdoor concerts once a month when the weather allows with two string lights with a tiny sound system that’s a stick Boise. The only ones we do outdoors are solo acoustic singers, which is someone standing there with an acoustic guitar, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the latest.”

Faithful customers rallied to support the bookshop. A Change.org petition to “Save The Frenchtown Bookshop’s Programming” gathered more than 1,200 signatures.

But now, Frenchtown and the bookshop, as well as many other small businesses in the borough that host outdoor events, are working together on an agreement that may result in a change to the borough's zoning regulations to satisfy both residents and businesses, who are close neighbors in this small town.

The borough has started a dialogue with the Frenchtown Business & Professional Association to develop a framework for outdoor events that attract customers.

At a time when small businesses – particularly independent small bookshops – are struggling to stay afloat, the collaboration between local government and entrepreneurs is welcome news.

“I think the business association will be an important partner in helping us reach a balanced approach so that we can have live music but do it in a way that is respectful to the neighbors who live nearby or above the shops,” said Mayor Brad Myhre. “I think we’re just trying to strike the right balance, and this will be worked out.”

According to an update on the bookshop's Facebook page, the draft of the agreement says that events with sound below 60 decibels – about the level of ordinary conversation – will not be regulated by the zoning ordinance.

For events above 60 decibels, like concerts, there will be a cutoff time of 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 p.m. weekends. The cutoff time can be extended with a permit. There will also be a cap on the number of outdoor events held.

"Since the Bookshop has only a small handful of outdoor concerts, weather permitting, during the summer, in early evenings, this may be a workable approach to allow the Bookshop's regular concert programming," according to the bookshop's post.

Saving outdoor performances is vital to the bookshop's survival as it competes against online behemoths.

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The bookshop has hosted outdoor concerts and events in the 1,200-square-foot outdoor space since it revived the former home of the Book Garden in 2021.

Last year, the shop held 100 events, both indoors and outdoors, and people regularly drive more than an hour to attend them. Ten to 45 people typically attend the events.

Events and concerts are common practice of many bookstores And many small businesses in Frenchtown, like the Concerts On The Porch series at Rock Art Revival or Sandy's Scoops ice cream shop, have them.

“Virtually every bookstore that I have interacted with also offers community events,” Eileen Dengler, executive director of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, said in the appeal the bookshop filed with the borough. “In my observation, bookstores that do not have a strong events program often struggle to succeed … Their event programming is exactly what a ‘bookstore’ does.”

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“I am appalled over the Borough’s control over an independent bookstore or any business in town. Should they stop game night at a local mercantile? Live music at record stores and art galleries? … What will be next?” wrote Skye Van Saun in the petition. “I don’t go out far at night and, since Covid, rarely if ever go to indoor events. Now you want to bar those of us isolating from Covid from enjoying and participating in poetry and music events in the lovely garden out back?”

The Frenchtown Bookshop holds regular events like its monthly Cooking the Books Supper Club, where members all buy the same cookbook and then cook a meal from the cookbook together at Canal House Station in Milford. The leftover meals are donated to the Frenchtown Methodist Church food pantry.

The bookshop also has four other book clubs, as well as poetry readings on the first Saturdays of the month, which have showcased poets like Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Muldoon. The shop also hosts a monthly concert series, which has featured notables such as folk singer and songwriter Vance Gilbert and the "twang harmony duo" The Kennedys.

The discussion on outdoor events is a relief to Frenchtown businesses on the eve of Small Business Saturday, which falls on Nov. 25 this year, the day after Black Friday, to encourage people to holiday shop from local stores rather than big box retailers.

All the bookshop's events are free with the net profits going to the performers.

According to Sheldon, all the bookshop’s events adhere to a state statute that mandates all outdoor events must end before 10 p.m. and the sound level cannot rise more than 70 decibels, about the level that most people play their TVs.

But when the bookshop’s calendar is empty, the outdoor space is attractive to locals for another reason. It’s one of the few borough spots providing a quiet respite with no credit card swipe required, Sheldon said.

“Frenchtown in the summer is a very busy tourist area and there’s nowhere for people to find a peaceful spot to rest, read or hear poetry or music,” he said. “Our goal was to create a secluded and quiet space only a few steps from Bridge Street where people don’t have to buy a coffee or a meal to be able to earn a little bit of time sitting and resting.”

Staff Writer Jenna Intersimone: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Frenchtown NJ Bookshop concerts, events to continue