Red Stick Reads

Red Stick Reads

MEET THE COUPLE BEHIND MID CITY BATON ROUGE’S BOUTIQUE BOOKSTORE

By Lauren Heffker

When James and Tere Hyfield set up their first Red Stick Reads pop-up at the 2019 White Light Night as part of the Mid City Maker’s Market, they were greeted by thick sheets of pouring rain. Brand new books they hadn’t even had the chance to sell yet were on the verge of being ruined. But, just when they were about to pack up, the storm stopped. The sky cleared, and people came out in droves for Baton Rouge’s biggest art event of the year. That early experience exemplifies how the local business has fared since; seemingly, against all odds, it’s working.

Through the market, the husband-and-wife team acquired the Eugene Street office space last summer that now serves as the cozy current home for their boutique bookshop. Opening an indie bookstore during a pandemic is certainly not for the faint of heart, but the precise timing actually allowed them to overcome regular barriers of entry, as online retailers like Amazon experienced delivery issues and people stuck at home turned to books and puzzles for entertainment.

“We were working against our better judgment, but everything that needed to appear in the moment that it needed to, did,” said Tere. “And so we kept taking the next step.”

The couple couldn’t imagine a better place to be for long-term community involvement than Mid City. They envision their bookshop as a neighborhood hangout where people come to connect organically, and eventually, as pandemic restrictions ease, a café and event venue where they can host live music and other pop-up artists. “It’s about, hey, let’s visit for a while. Let’s catch up, let’s be human, let’s tell each other stories,” James said. “I’m hoping that this thing becomes almost like a public park for the local community.”

To ensure people can bookbrowse safely in their small space, Red Stick Reads is shop-by appointment for now. This one on one time allows James and Tere to interact with every guest who walks through their door, providing a particularly customer oriented shopping experience. “As a kid, I always loved the idea of being able to go to this bookstore, and the bookseller knew what my dad wanted before we got there and had a stack of books waiting for him,” James recalled.

A Spanish school teacher by day, Tere specializes in children’s books and emphasizes curating a catalog for Red Stick Reads that’s as diverse as it is relevant. Both avid bookworms themselves, above all, they want to share their love of literature by getting books in people's hearts.

“The thought is that we want you to leave us with a book, whether you bought it from us or grabbed it for free out in that library, but we’re going to talk books with you no matter what. We just hope that if nothing else, that’s a relationship we can foster,” James said. “It’s just our love language,” Tere continued. “It really is. So the fact that we’re finding a way to make a living out of it is insane to us. It’s the dream.”

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