PORT TOWNSEND — Whenever they travel to a small town, Garrett Jones and John Blomgren head for the local bookstore.
In Port Townsend, they opted to buy the place.
Jones and Blomgren, who operated the Back to Eden bakery in Portland, Ore., until the pandemic’s arrival, are the new owners of Imprint Bookshop, the snug store at 820 Water St.
“We had been thinking about moving up here for a long time. We were keeping our eyes open” for the right small business opportunity, Blomgren said.
Their bakery, which Blomgren said was a showcase for Jones’ talents as a chef, was a vegan, gluten-free eatery, “very Portland,” he said.
The couple, who have been married eight years and together for 19, hoped to find another business providing another kind of sustenance. Both are avid readers; both love the way a bookstore can be a sanctuary.
Imprint’s former owners, Samantha Ladwig and husband Thom Nienow, put the shop on the market last July. They purchased it in 2019 and then made their way through the pandemic. After five years, they were ready to move on, according to their announcement that Imprint was for sale.
So Jones and Blomgren looked into it. They liked what they saw — a lot.
The pair took the reins Nov. 1 and celebrated Imprint’s 50th anniversary last Sunday. The emphasis will stay on books, including those by local writers, while changes are underway.
The Writers Workshoppe, begun in the room adjacent the store by former Imprint owners Anna and Peter Quinn, is put on pause, Blomgren said, since enrollment in its courses has dwindled. About 60 percent of the workshops were being canceled, he said.
With so many writing classes offered elsewhere, it made sense to rethink the operation and perhaps offer a writers’ retreat in the future.
Jones and Blomgren have plans for other community events, including an Inauguration Day gathering next month.
This Jan. 20 event will be “something to bring the community together and give people an opportunity to connect,” Blomgren said, “as an alternative to tuning in to what’s happening elsewhere.”
This will be a “gathering for solace and solidarity as we prepare for another four years of community building, resistance, and resilience,” according to the store’s website, imprintbookshop.com.
The new year also will bring an expansion of the children’s-middle grade-young adult section into the former Writers Workshoppe space. That will give people “more breathing room,” Blomgren said.
“We will definitely be doing author readings,” he said; he and Jones are finalizing the calendar now for early 2025.
“We’ve missed being part of a business community,” Jones added.
The Back to Eden bakery, on Alberta Street in Portland for 13 years, was a popular spot. And while Jones’ skills as a chef were at the center of it, Imprint Bookshop moves Blomgren to the front.
“John’s knowledge of books surpasses mine. And he has an incredible ability to retain information,” Jones said. He loves books and reading, while “John is even more passionate about it … He’s holding it down [at the shop] while I hold down other aspects of our life.”
Imprint has long been part of the bookscape in downtown Port Townsend, with William James Bookseller across the street and Phoenix Rising a block away.
William James recently consolidated at 829 Water St. The store had expanded into the space next door around the start of the pandemic, which proved to be a bad time to grow, co-owner Paul Stafford said.
He and his wife Michelle Peters bought William James in 2012; their inventory is now about 40,000 books.
Phoenix Rising, meantime, will close its doors at 696 Water St. in February, as its longtime owner, Jill Spier, moves to Sri Lanka to open an orphanage, meditation center and store there.
Blomgren, all the while, marvels at what he and Jones have seen since they purchased Imprint.
“It’s very heartening, maybe more so than we even anticipated, how much this is an institution in the community, and how committed this community is to supporting small businesses,” he said.
Daily, he sees people come into the store and connect with each other — “serendipitous, auspicious interactions,” he said.
“It’s been kind of mind-blowing.”
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Diane Urbani de la Paz is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Port Townsend.
