Misty Valley Books shut after staff apparently quits Local purchase of store from Phoenix Books abruptly ends

By Cynthia Prairie
©2018 Telegraph Publishing

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Phoenix Books Misty Valley in Chester was open. On Wednesday, Nov. 7, it was not. Sometime on Thursday, Nov. 8, it will open again, at least through the weekend. But when it will reopen again permanently is not known by the owners, who still hope to sell the business to a local buyer.

More than six weeks ago, Misty Valley bookseller and Andover resident Amanda Bourque began negotiations to purchase the bookstore while leasing the building from Phoenix Books, which itself purchased the store and buildings 2 1/2 years ago.

However, negotiations came to a halt late last week and,on Monday, Bourque, who had worked at Misty Valley for 15 years, left her employment with Phoenix Books.  By Wednesday, apparently so had the three other Misty Valley employees, leaving the business dark.

In May 2016, the landmark store, which has been a vital fixture of the Chester Green for 31 years, was sold by local owners Bill and Lynne Reed to Michael DeSanto and his wife Renee Reiner, owner of Phoenix Books, a Vermont chain based in Essex.

Included in that sale were the store building, an upstairs apartment and the attached home. The Reeds had owned the bookstore for 15 years, and had lived at various times in the apartment and the home. They were looking toward retirement, and purchased a small home across the Connecticut River in Walpole, N.H.

DeSanto and Reiner’s chain includes bookstores in Essex, Burlington and Rutland, as well as a partnership in a bookstore in Woodstock. At the time of the purchase, DeSanto told The Telegraph, “Our intent is to keep intact all the traditions surrounding the store while adding a few new ideas from our experience of owning and operating three other stores … When someone comes into the store they won’t say ‘what happened here?’ They shouldn’t feel anything has changed. … You won’t see the long arm of Phoenix Books forcing issues with them.”

Also, to maintain some local ownership, DeSanto said he would be looking for a minority partner to invest in the store and play a role in the business, much like the partnership in Woodstock.

That local partner never materialized until Bourque stepped up. Bourque declined to comment for this article other than to say that “we entered into negotiations and we could not agree.”

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, DeSanto said that, following the failure of the negotiations, he had received emails from Misty Valley staff Tuesday indicating that they would not be opening the door, which he called a “surprise.”

DeSanto issued a press release Wednesday confirming the situation, writing that Phoenix was working toward having a “locally-based owner/manager … which, sadly, fell through” resulting in “unexpected staffing issues.”

DeSanto added that the store however will “have limited hours” from Thursday afternoon until Sunday, Nov. 11, when the store will hold a “final event” with Vermont author Archer Mayor. DeSanto expressed hope that someone else would come forward to “take the reins” of the store. He also said on Tuesday that he was open to selling the building.

A ‘corporate feel’ for a community business

As the only first-edition bookseller in the 44 miles between Bellows Falls and Manchester, the potential loss of Misty Valley Books is a blow to Chester, the surrounding towns and the myriad visitors it attracts.

And reaction to the closing was swift.

Chester resident Marcia Pease-Grant, who has continued to be a regular shopper at the store and found it shuttered on Wednesday, said, “I’m crushed. I went there all the time — mostly because the old staff was there. … Thank God they kept the old staff.”

She added that, under Phoenix Books, the store renovation eliminated “that really homey feeling,” and the selection of books  … I found there was less to browse through.” Pease-Grant added that she sensed that the selection was “all a commercial decision as opposed to a gut-level decision that the Reeds made because they know the community.”

She compared the atmosphere with the Reeds and the “old staff” as “sitting around a potbelly stove and talking … it was an extension of my sense of community.” Shopping became a “social event and not just a business transaction.”

Windham resident John Hoover, a Misty Valley bookseller from 2016 2006 to 2017 who, for four years, also wrote a book column for The Chester Telegraph, posted on Facebook:  “It was because of the new owners that I resigned my position there. I could not work under the corporate ‘culture’ that they brought in and watch the obvious mistakes they made. I will miss the wonderful folks there, especially Kim, Amanda, Sara, and Anna and want to thank them for making Misty Valley Books the wonderful place it was.”

In an interview, he added, “I don’t think they (Phoenix) were at all sensitive to the needs of the communities …”

Bob Flint, of the Springfield Regional Development Corp., offered some insight into why a successful business such as Phoenix might not make it in a small town. “The reason it worked under Bill and Lynne (Reed) and before that Dwight Currie and Michael Kohlmann, is because they were local owners who were engaged in the community.

“It’s got to be a labor of love and not just during the hours it is open,  … even with the success and expertise that Phoenix Books” has with its other stores.  Phoenix Books bought Misty Valley, he said, because it was a successful business. “Their challenge was to make it go when they weren’t here  … if they lived here, they would know what inventory to stock, they would know the heartbeat of the community.”