b e lo ca l Written and designed by Sofia Biros
Acknowl
egements
I dedicate this book to the following people for supporting and guiding me over the course of this project, and for generously donating their time and energy to my efforts.
Book Buyers MV & Melody Parker MV General Store & TINA AMBROGI HELMIng's Auto & Leane Reelfs The Freestyle Academy
Table of Contents [7] Introduction............................................................[9] Chapter One:....................................................[10] The Problems
Foreword....................................................................
[16]
Chapter Two:............................................... The Benefits
[22]
Chapter Three:...................................... The Solutions
[27]
Conclusion:.......................................
[29]
Works Cited:.................................
Foreword I haven’t always been interested in local businesses. In fact, I was hardly even aware of it until a few years ago, when my parents started buying our veggies from Farm Fresh to You. Farm Fresh to You brings fresh, seasonal organic produce from their farm right to your doorstep. After we started receiving these boxes every Tuesday, conversations with my dad on how important it was to buy local produce became a frequent topic at the dinner table. “Sofia,” he would start. “You know where this kale came from?” Of course, I rolled my eyes, and dramatically chewed the stir fried kale. “No Dad, where?” Humoring him was just a typical teenage antic of mine, but after what seemed to be the 100th encounter, I actually began to listen and appreciate. From that point on, I started seeking out ways that I could help. I’ve lived in Downtown Mountain View my whole life, and I have always seen storefronts come and go faster than the drama at high school. From the time I was 12 to now, age 17, there have only been a few businesses that are the same as they were when I was in 6th grade. One of these is Book Buyers. I have routinely spent hours on end in the store, pouring over the books. I started in the young adult section, but now, you can find me in amongst the novels. I’m the girl sitting cross legged on the floor with The Great Gatsby in one hand and To Kill a Mockingbird in the other (I’m a sucker for the classics). Entering this project, I was quite frankly very intimidated. The junior documentary project here at Freestyle is notorious for its difficulty. I was told it would consume my life. For the next 3 months, I better eat, sleep, and live local businesses. All of this was true. I have begun to eat, sleep, and live for this. However, this project isn’t your typical school project. I was able to immerse myself in a topic that I truly loved and enjoyed researching. I never once had to force myself to sit down and write, or layout my book, or set up my website. This unit has been by far my favorite at Freestyle so far, and I am so thankful that I have gotten the opportunity to focus on a topic that I am so deeply passionate about. I wanted to know why Book Buyers and those stores that had remained in business were successful. How, amongst all of the technology giants, did this little hole in the wall thrive after all this time. I aimed to determine this while simultaneously telling the untold story of local business in my community, and the following is what I’ve uncovered. With love,
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Introduction 317 Castro Street, Mountain View, California: a small, local bookstore is bookended by a towering chain store and a typical Silicon Valley startup company. The store? Book Buyers of Mountain View, one of the Bay Area’s largest used book stores. At first glance, Book Buyers seems like a standard store; walking in, however, Book Buyers is clearly much more. With over 300,000 used and out of print books on their shelves, Book Buyers is no standard store. As a long term business of Downtown Mountain View, Book Buyers is a textbook definition of a local business, drawing crowds of locals through its doors every day. It is a business that is imperative to the community: both economically and socially. For as long as there have been businesses in the United States, there has been competition. There have always been stores battling one another in order to gain the largest foothold they possibly can in the economy. Quickly, however, it became apparent that businesses that grew fastest would be the ones that became more successful. In recent years, especially with a downtrodden economy hit hard by recession, independent businesses have begun to suffer more than ever. However, a change is occurring. In many more communities, supporting local businesses has become more and more important and is encouraged by people from all walks of life. These people are starting to realize the importance of these businesses and how small, “mom and pop� businesses are what really turn the economy-- not big box stores. Although often times it is simpler, cheaper, and downright easier to buy products from massive chain stores, it is far more beneficial to our neighborhood communities to buy from local businesses, such as Book Buyers, instead. 9
Chapter One: The Problems
Book Buyers opened in Mountain View in 1993, when Downtown Castro was still a simple, slow-paced street. Over the past 10 years, more restaurants, boutiques, and start-ups opened, bringing along hoards of Generation Y-ers. Castro Street soon became a bustling hub of activity, especially on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Book Buyers is an eclectic used bookstore, perfect for not only those innovative, tech savvy twenty-something year olds, but also for the families that live in the area. At any given time, the independent shop can have 20, 30, 40, or more customers browsing the shelves. Next door is Books Inc, a larger shop, with multiple locations. Book Buyers and Books Inc are often competing for the same customers, but have very different products. Books Inc is exclusively new books, whereas Book Buyers is used books and media. Exclusive to Book Buyers is their trading system. Customers can bring in their books, and sell them to the store. In return, these customers receive store
credit, which can buy anything in the store. Within your first 10 steps into Book Buyers, it is apparent that it no common store. The store has a certain smell to it, that worn and used book smell. There are rows upon rows of books. The shelves are far above your head and seem to be never ending. Employee Melody Parker notes, “It sometimes takes time to find some good things in there, but in the end, it’s worth it.” It can be easy to spend multiple hours in the store. Book Buyers feels different than the large store next door. There’s just some-
thing about it. Maybe it’s the diverse selection of books, or maybe it’s the employees, who are vast bases of knowledge, always ready to recommend a book. They are unique, different, sometimes a little odd, but always give 100 percent to their customers. Stores such as Book Buyers used to be the norm, especially in small towns such as Mountain View. These “mom and pop” shops are owned and operated by families and their employees. Contrary to “big box” stores, where everything is shipped in from a corporate headquarters, mom and pop
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stores give customers individualized attention. Tina Ambrogi, owner of the Mountain View General Store, believes that the dynamic between small and large businesses is often a difficult one to sort out. “[Big box stores] made it easy to shop at because their prices are low and they have the resources to advertise,” she says. “They have all these resources and this exposure and people see them and they go there. People think that it’s just more convenient and I’ve been guilty of that, we all are.” Even though in recent years, some have begun shopping locally again, many people still forgo independent businesses in their neighborhoods and communities in favor of more convenient, cheaper options: big box, chain stores. In 1942, Economist Joseph Schumpeter “coined the phrase ‘creative destruction’ to describe the painful process by which innovation and technological advance make an industry more efficient while leaving older, less adaptable businesses by the wayside” (Levinson 9). This “creative destruction”
has become more and more evident in Silicon Valley as tech companies have begun to boom. Google, in particular, has become a huge threat to the prosperity of independent businesses. In the Mountain View Voice’s 2013 article “Can’t Compete with Free Eats,” local business owners discuss their fear of closure due to Google taking their business away from them. Due to Google’s complimentary food, Googlers who previously dined at restaurants nearby
now stay on the campus for meals. Even though Book Buyers is not an eatery, the tech companies have posed a problem to them as well. Book Buyers employee Melody Parker is on the same page. “Ever since Amazon started picking up about 7 years ago,” Parker said, continuing, “our sales have sharply decreased.” With the convenience of simply searching and purchasing, why would you even bother going into a bookstore in person?
ne
"Those stores have made it easy to shop at because their prices are low and they have the resources to advertise and the exposure. a lot of people think that it's just more convenient and I've been guilty of that, Ow we all are." r,
MV
Gen
-Tina Ambrogi
e r a l St o r e
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Some of Book Buyers’ extensive CD inventory 15
Chapter Two: The Benefits
Independent businesses are surefire sources of sustainability for their communities. Not only do these businesses promote the local economies, but they also increase community bonds, well-being and connection. When money is spent at in local businesses, that cash is kept within the community, allowing for further economic opportunities. In recent years, a “Cash Mob” phenomenon has started occurring (Cash Mob Descends). Cash Mobs are organized groups of residents of a neighborhood who all plan on shopping at a specific store at a specific time and date. These businesses are targeted for economic stimulus. On the official Cash Mob website, it is written that “‘Cash Mobs’ are organized by people trying to make a positive impact on the businesses in their communities.” In 2012, a cash mob descended on Ava’s Downtown Market, just across the street from Book Buyers. In addition to revolving the economy, independent businesses also directly support
residents of their communities. Book Buyers is owned and operated almost exclusively by residents of Mountain View. Employee Melody Parker lives less than a mile away. When searching for a job, one of her top criteria was working within walking distance of her house. Having employees that are familiar with the area creates community bonds and connections. For ex-
pires, independent businesses with local ownership means that when important decisions are made, they have the community in mind. Owner of the Mountain View General Store and resident Tina Ambrogi is a prime example of this. She says, “People in independent businesses they don’t have them because they don’t want them. [Their business] is their passion.” Even though decisions can be made with monetary effects in mind, local business owners have to put far more effort into making in. They have to own these shops because its “truly what they want,” Amrogi says. The same goes for Book Buyers. “You have to sell a lot of books in order to make it, especially because the rent is so high on Castro,” Parker, of Book Buyers, says. “It’s very challenging to be able to sell enough products to make a profit and have business” Nonetheless, Book Buyers still pushes through, implementing innovative ways to draw in business. In August 1999, Google opened its first Mountain View
"It' s unfortunate we've become a one-company town so dominated by one company." -Jac Siegal ample, Book Buyers’ trading counter allows people to come in time and time again. The book emporium is also planning on starting classes and events for the community, such as book readings and discussions. A key difference between big box stores and independent businesses is the ownership. With large chain stores, choices are made based how much money will be made, or how their brand name will be affected. As opposed to these business em-
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campus. Over the course of the past 15 years, Mountain View has developed from midsized town into a booming technology hub. Residents who have lived in the city since before Google moved in often have very mixed feelings about how it has changed the face of the city. Many believe that Google makes it harder for small businesses to thrive, especially with soaring rents: everyone wants to live and work in the heart of Silicon Valley. However, Google supports the community with different programs, one of which is the Bay Area Impact Challenge. The Bay Area Impact Challenge is “an open invitation to local non profits to share their vision for innovative ways to make our neighborhoods stronger—and how Google’s support can help them 18
grow.” Although Google routinely donates to a variety of local organizations, many residents feel as though they do not do enough. Mountain View City Councilman Jac Siegel, for example, has gone on record telling Google they are “underwhelmingly generous to [the] city.” He continues, saying that “It’s unfortunate we’ve become a one-company town so dominated by one company” (Can’t Compete). Because of Google’s sheer size, things it does for the city seem minor compared to the size of the multi-billion dollar company. Amrogi believes “The face of MV has really changed.” She, like other residents, is unsure of how she feels about it. “Growth is good,” she believes, “but it’s changing what was here.”
Two classic American novels, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” and F. Scott Fiitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” on display in Book Buyers.
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Chapter Three: The Solutions
Keeping local businesses afloat can be as easy as a trip to the grocery store. Skip Costco for the day, and go to the farmer’s market (Mountain View’s is Sunday mornings at the CalTrain station!), or to the deli down the street from your house. It’s not economically easy or practical to exclusively shop locally, but it can be done. You don’t have to, though; it can be as simple as going to the burger joint on the outskirts of downtown instead of In n Out. If you can’t do that, then there are almost always local products in the grocery store. The options for supporting independent businesses are countless, and are often quick fixes to daily habits. All you have to do is think local first! Supporting your local businesses economically is just one of the many ways. You can sympathize with those who run the businesses and supporting their processes by which they become successful. Entrepre-
neurship is the backbone of independent businesses. As Tina, the MV General Store owner put it, those owners are there because they want to be there. Entrepreneurs are what built this country, as cliche as that seems. Without those people who dedicated their entire lives to building their stores, Ameri-
can business would be in no way what it is today. In 2004, the City of San Francisco began regulating “formula,” or chain, businesses. San Francisco’s planning code 703.3 deals with this. The preamble of the code is very specific as to its goals. “San Francisco needs
to protect its vibrant small business sector and create a supportive environment for new small business innovations. The increase of [chain] retail businesses in the City’s neighborhood commercial areas, if not monitored and regulated, will hamper the City’s goal of a diverse retail base. Specifically, the unregulated and unmonitored establishment of additional [chain] retail uses may unduly limit or eliminate business establishment opportunities for smaller or medium-sized businesses, many of which tend to be nontraditional or unique, and unduly skew the mix of businesses towards national retailers in lieu of local or regional retailer.” (Formula Business Restriction) This policy is designed to protect small businesses, which would not be protected otherwise. Independent businesses in the City are welcomed and preserved, but they aren’t every-
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where. Luckily, San Francisco is just one of many cities beginning to adapt policies like this. This formula business restriction immediately began helping small businesses thrive again. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Stacy Mitchell gave a speech on this matter. “Contrary to conventional wisdom, the decline of independent businesses is not inevitable, nor is it simply the result of free market forces,” Mitchell said. “Rather, public policy has played a major role…[due to] development subsidies that give national chains a significant advantage.” Mitchell continues her speech discussing how some believe that there shouldn’t be any restrictions on business. “After all,” she says, “this is a free market.” She added, however, that rather than undermining the local economy, many communities are taking a different approach, making local business-
es a focus in the community and encouraging their existence during planning and economic development decisions. This can be done in our communities as well. Attending one city counsel meeting can give you an inside look to how the decisions of the
knowledge of the stock and are able to recommend a book truly because they enjoyed it, not just because it was the most expensive one on the recent releases shelf. Small businesses create a feeling within them that big stores do not have. “I think it’s nice that we have our own identity,” Parker said. “Working at a big huge chain, you kind of lose that identity as a store, because you’re forced to be a part of a bigger network of stores. [Small stores] have more of a community feel.” Ultimately, the goal is to revive the way business used to be conducted. In order to get back to our roots, we have to learn how to be dependent on the businesses in our local community. We must expand our horizons and teach ourselves that sometimes, the things that seem furthest away and most out of reach are the things that are closest to home.
"Working at a big huge chain, you kind of lose that identity as a store, because you're forced to be a part of a bigger network of stores. [Small stores] have more of a community feel." -Melody Parker
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area are made and how you can help make those choices. Independent businesses are what keeps our communities together. They excel in customer service, primarily because the employees and owners truly care about their products and customers. The Book Buyers’ employees are encouraged to borrow up to 10 books at a time, so they can increase their
Some of Book Buyers’ “Go on a Blind Date with a Book” promotion, where customers can buy a book suimply by the description 25
Conclusion The importance of local businesses is truly overwhelming. Everything in the community revolves around the independent businesses in the area. From the area’s economy and profitability to ecological sustainability and community events, small businesses keep the community together. In Marc Levinson’s book The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America, history of local business and the competition with large companies is illustrated by following the history of the grocer A&P. Levinson writes, “Everywhere [in the world], the complaint is the same as it
is been in America: the un- checked growth of large reEven though it tailers threatened the tradican be easier and tional role of local merchants and destroys opportunities less expensive to for economic independence” buy products from (11). For this reason, it is imperative that local businesslarge chain stores, es have our support. it is consistently far Reviving small business in America will be no more important to easy feat. However, if everythe sustainability one makes the choice to buy of our neighborlocal just once a week, or even once a month, the efhood communities fects will quickly ripple. Simto buy from local ply switching from buying honey from Safeway to buybusinesses, like ing it locally harvested from Book Buyers, a beekeeper at the farmer’s market can make a huge iminstead. pact.
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Works Cited “About Us.” Book Buyers, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. Abrogi, Tina. Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2014. “Cash Mob Descends on Mountain View Grocer.” Cash Mob. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. “Cash Mobs.” Cash Mobs. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Debolt, Daniel. “Can’t Compete with Free Eats.” Mountain View Online. Mountain View Voice, 11 July 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. “Formula Business Restriction–SF, CA.” Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. Levinson, Marc. The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America. New York: Hill and Wang, 2011. Print. Mitchell, Stacy. “The Impact of Chain Stores of the Community.” Institute for Local Self-Reli ance. Insti tute for Local Self-Reliance, 18 Apr. 2000. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. “Mtn. View General Store.” MVGS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Parker, Melody. Personal interview. 10 Mar. 2014. “Working together, What Will Make the Bay Area Even better?” Bay Area Nonprofits, Share Your Innovative Ideas by March 31 for Making Our Communities an Even Better Place to Live. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. 29
Be Local
Written and designed by Sofia Biros
Be Local: a documentation of the small businesseS of Mountain View, California, and their struggle to stay afloat in a sinking economy.
Sofia Biros
Sofia Biros is 17 years old and is a junior at Freestyle Academy and Mountain View High School. She enjoys graphic design and writing, especially journalism-- she’s the photo editor for the Mountain View Oracle, which means that you should probably stay on her good side or else an embarrassing selfie of you will end up in the paper. In her free time, Sofia enjoys hiking and backpacking, and she plans on summiting Mount Whitney in the early fall. She also lifeguards and teaches swim lessons at Eagle pool. Sofia’s favorite movies are the Breakfast Club and 16 Candles, because she is convinced the 1980’s era Molly Ringwald is her alter-ego.
b e lo ca l