No next chapter for Woodland bookstore

With its creaky wooden floors, sky-blue ceiling and handmade shelves, the Next Chapter Bookstore & Coffeehouse in Woodland stands out in a city known more for processors of tomatoes than purveyors of literature.

The store's relocation in 2003 to the building occupied for a century by Cranston Brothers Hardware was hailed as a move that could help rejuvenate Woodland's long-struggling downtown.

Now the bookstore is expected to close in about two months, driven under by the harsh economics that have forced many other independent bookstores out of business, its owners say.

"Our end is near," read signs on the windows.

Despite a heavy burden of debt, owners Vicky Panzich and John Hamilton say their years in Woodland have been good ones, filled with support from loyal customers.

"It's hard to overemphasize how important our customers are," Panzich said. "Woodland's been wonderful."

One recent afternoon, a dozen shoppers browsed the shelves. Folk music played on the stereo. Ceiling fans spun lazily in the airy space, with its book-lined balconies.

Locals say the Next Chapter has become a community gathering spot for book clubs, political meetings and adult-education classes, all free of charge.

Terry Hollowell, a regular customer who plays Scrabble there, recalled with a smile when the store was packed for the midnight release of the last Harry Potter book.

She gave Panzich a hug, and said she would miss the smell of the books and Hamilton's folksy e-mail messages.

"I keep thinking someone is going to ride to the rescue," Hollowell said, "but I don't think it will happen."

Bob Salley, 74, a retired teacher and state administrator is a leader in Woodland Reads, a group that calls the Next Chapter home. With advice from the shop owners, the group invites writers to visit Woodland schools and give readings at the bookstore.

"The spirit of the whole day is attached to this place," Salley said.

"The Kite Runner" author, Khaled Hosseini, came to Woodland. So did Central Valley farmer David Mas Masumoto, who wrote "Epitaph for a Peach."

Francisco Jimenez, author of "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child," connected well with students in Woodland schools, Salley said.

Without the shop, the city will be left with only big-box stores to sell new books, he said. Even the Waldenbooks in the local mall is closed.

"For Woodland, it's a great thing to have an independent bookstore," Salley said. "To have it leave, then what do we have? We're left with Target and Costco on the edge of town."

Those big-box stores, along with Internet sites like Amazon and megastores like Borders sell below the manufacturer's suggested retail price and draw customers away from small bookstores, which must charge full price to clear even a small profit, Panzich and Hamilton said.

Selling books has never been very profitable, they said, but things have gotten worse.

Panzich and Hamilton started their store in Davis in 1987. When the decision was made to open a Borders in Davis in 1997, they fought it for a year but then decided to move to a converted rice mill on Woodland's Court Street.

Later, Woodland attorney Tom Stallard asked them to move to the Cranston building, which he had bought, Hamilton said.

Stallard has gone to great lengths to keep them there, the couple said, and customers have contributed funds to support the store.

But ultimately even those efforts weren't enough, they said.

A half-dozen independent bookstores have closed in Davis in the last two decades, Panzich and Hamilton said, and Woodland has only one used bookstore left. Mark Nemmers, who recently closed Bogey's Books in downtown Davis, lent Panzich and Hamilton some signs.

Books at the Next Chapter are discounted 21 percent. "All sales final," reads one sign over the cash register. "No returns."

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