A community bookstore

By Kathy N

With most of the world going digital, there is still a place at Alameda that hasn’t. That place is called “Recycled Bookstore.” Having been bought over 25 years ago by the current owner, the bookstore has thrived throughout the years. Even when faced with the pandemic, it didn’t seem to stop the avenue the bookstore brought in, especially during 2021. 

Eric Johnson (55), the owner of Recycled Bookstore in south bay San Jose, hadn’t always been the bookstore's owner. Facing the bookstore’s almost-closure during the pandemic, it was a hard time for him. 

Johnson: “Many months of just pure terror and panic. We had to close down for two months. You're making fifteen thousand a month, which is good, and then once you have no sales, you have those eighty thousand dollars in costs but no sales coming in—you're panicking. We applied for PPP loans; we got those loans and that helped. Slowly, we were able to open up. We got sorta back to normal, but once we came back out of Covid, people really realized how important the bookstore was. We had our best year the year we came out of Covid.”

Before Johnson was the bookstore’s owner he, himself, was a customer there, shopping there when he was a child and even during college. He eventually saw the store up for sale and bought it after making a financial decision on his part.

 Johnson: “Later on when I was teaching part-time at a couple of community colleges, I had applied to San Jose State to go back to get a master’s degree in psychology when I went by the bookstore and saw it was up for sale. So I decided, ‘Hey, my career's in transition. This thing might be a good idea.’ And so, I decided to buy it.”

The bookstore and its relationship with its customers seem to be one of the reasons that the bookstore has been around for so long. With the customers selling books to the store, as well as customers buying books there, it is reason enough that a relationship between the customers and staff be formed.            

Especially after quarantine. With the world slowly getting out of quarantine, physical copies of books were on the rise as well as bookstores in general. Statistics have proven this. It was definitely a year to remember many local bookstores, including Recycled Bookstore.

The bookstore not only has books but two cats that can be seen walking around the store. So while you're browsing, watch out for some cats on the floor. They might just be there to say hello and welcome you in. 

For the Warrior Times, this is Kathy Nguyen.