Elk Grove bookstore wants everyone to have A Seat at the Table
ELK GROVE — It's time to crack open a new book because Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day, a time to shop local and celebrate reading. CBS Sacramento took a look inside one Elk Grove bookstore that is on a mission to do more.
For many people, nothing beats a good cup of coffee and a good book. But Emily Autenrieth had a bigger vision when she opened her independent bookstore, A Seat at the Table Books, on Laguna Springs Drive three years ago.
Emily wanted everyone to have a seat at the table.
"We're here to meet community needs," she said. "We're here to serve the people in Elk Grove."
Emily's days are long. She spends her mornings homeschooling and her afternoons running her business, which includes 8,000 books and items and eight employees — some of whom started out as customers.
In this tough economic climate, owning and operating a small business involves a lot of risk and a lot of challenges.
"It's a really tough industry anyway, particularly when there are concerns about the economy and how tariffs are going to impact everyone," Emily said. "We don't have room to raise our prices at a bookstore the way that other retail might be able to."
Despite the uncertainty, bookstores are making a comeback. The American Booksellers Association says its membership has doubled since 2016, now at 2,400 stores nationwide.
Many shops like A Seat at the Table Books are reaching more customers by standing up to book bans and doubling down on diversity.
"People belong here at A Seat at the Table, no matter who they are or what their background is," Emily said. "Specifically, we celebrate what makes us different and what makes us unique."
It's not just a bookstore or cafe but a community hub with a mission to make a difference.
"Not ever expecting to make money out of this, I'm just trying to keep the 'third space' going," Emily said. "So that's really the goal, is to make enough to keep covering our costs and keep this space open to the community."
A Seat at the Table will be part of a book crawl this weekend for Independent Bookstore Day, encouraging readers to visit their store and nine others in the region.
