Books & Company expands into Quesnel

A Prince George institution is now becoming a Cariboo institution.

Books & Company, the artsy book store-coffee shop-cafe-gallery-music studio-retail complex has become a cultural icon in this city, and on Tuesday, owner Owen Lubbers announced he was migrating the concept to the next city south.

"Prince George's beloved indie bookshop has partnered with Quesnel coffee superstar Granville's Coffee to bring you Books & Company Quesnel," Lubbers said. "But that's not all. Books & Co. is also bringing a current partner, Top Drawer Yarn Studio, along for the ride to round out this exciting new venture."

The location in Quesnel will be on Reid Street, a few doors down from Granville's Coffee.

"It's a funny sort of situation, but (Granville's Coffee owner) Ted Martindale actually approached me, and I don't know this for a fact but I think it's because his restaurant is so busy he is looking to lighten the load someplace close by. He's at the point where people aren't going there for coffee because they can't always get a place to sit. The additional building that was available to him was too big for what he wanted, so he needed a partner. He came to me. I hemmed and hawed a bit and agreed to terms for sharing the rent and living under the same roof. We aren't merging, but he'll do the coffee and I'll do the books, and there's a second floor in that building so Top Drawer will be up there, and some books will be up there, all sorts of good stuff. It's not exactly replicating what we're doing here at the Prince George location but it has some similarities."

There is only one other bookstore in Quesnel, said Lubbers, in a town with plenty enough people to support the two.

What this does not signal is the expansion of Books & Company throughout an uncharted indie bookstore empire.

"We are not looking to expand again," said Lubbers. "This was a pretty unique opportunity that came up. In my opinion, this arrangement was very special so I don't expect to keep carrying on down the road."

What he values in the partnership beyond the retail and marketing opportunities is keeping the same business company as Martindale.

"He is tremendously successful. I just can't say enough good things about his coffee shop," Lubbers said, "and he has a reputation in Quesnel like Jim Brinkman (founder of Books & Company) does here - generous, giving, plugged into the downtown, a big supporter of arts and culture, so it's a pretty good alignment for me."

The building in question has already been taken possession of, with renovations underway for the past few weeks. Lubbers said it was not yet possible to pinpoint a date for a grand opening, but sometime this autumn is the intention.