Shop Talk is an occasional feature in which fledgling independent booksellers take Q&Q into their stores and share their reasons for opening and what business has been like so far. 

Tap Town Books Inc.
2114 20 Street
Nanton, Alberta

Becky Scott hadn’t planned on opening a bookstore. But when space in a historic building (built in 1908) became available in Nanton as she was starting to wind down operations of a special effects and prop creation business, she decided to take the plunge.

“I was in a transition period, shutting down another business,” Scott says. “Opening a bookstore was not on my agenda, but it was one of those serendipitous occasions where the planets aligned, and it just felt like the right decision.”

As the president of the Nanton & District Chamber of Commerce, Scott has an understanding of who typically shops in the tourist town outside of Calgary, and what has worked for local businesses. She joined the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association and spoke to owners of similar-sized bookstores to inform her decision. She used these insights to help design the space and order inventory. 

Tap Town Books opened on November 9, 2023, just in time for the busy holiday bookselling season. The store has about 700 square feet of selling space and a staff of one – Scott herself –  at the moment. Scott recently answered a few questions for Q&Q about the store’s first few months of business.

Why open Tap Town Books in 2023? What was it about your community that inspired you to open the store?

I was signing a reasonable lease on the space and thought “why not?”; if I don’t try, I’ll never know. Although I obviously had to put a certain amount of time and money into the space and business, it wasn’t a massive investment. It was really the building and where I was at in my life at the time that inspired me to open the store; I also thought it would be a good, complementary addition to our Main Street.

How has the community and its readers responded to the store?

I really didn’t know what to expect but the response since opening has been nothing but positive – and that’s from people here in town as well as many who come through or drive down from Calgary. It’s a beautiful, relaxing space and people are stoked to have a bookstore here. I’ve had many comments from people that I carry a really good and wide selection of books. That was the hardest part: deciding among the millions of books out there, what to bring in that would appeal to people. Nanton has a strong reading community and lots of book clubs, and, of course, with more independent bookstores opening since the pandemic, and a greater move to shop local, it all added up to a good time to open. 

How do you reach potential readers?

It was such a rush to open prior to Christmas that I, in fact, had not yet finished my business or marketing plans, so this is a good question and one that I’m now working on. Thus far, it has been primarily through Instagram, Facebook, and word of mouth. I’ve provided donations to a couple of not-for-profit events in town and am looking at other marketing and promotional opportunities to really get the word out that I’m here. I’ve also been very strategic about my hours and am open prior to and later than many other businesses here and am currently closed only one day a week  – although I am planning to hire staff so I can be open seven days a week.

What are your goals for the bookstore? Does the store have any special focus?

There’s the very pragmatic side: I need to sell as many books as I can to be profitable. So that is goal number one. 

I also want to be a place where people can come to gather, talk, get away, learn new things, and be exposed to local writers and artists – I carry art from Nanton and area artists, including pottery, watercolours, stained glass, and art cards – and to give writers and artists an outlet for selling their work. I’d love for the bookstore to carry on past me, which was one of the reasons why I named it Tap Town Books and didn’t have my name in it. “Tap Town” is a nod to the past: it is what Nanton used to be called because of its well-known spring water. 

I’m not trying to be everything to everyone, but I do want to have a fairly broad selection of books, interesting local art, and a cool array of non-book products that other stores aren’t carrying and that complement what other businesses in Nanton have.

What has been most surprising or unexpected about opening a bookstore or about your first few months in business?

I’m surprised by the number of special orders I’m getting and the overwhelmingly positive response from everyone. It makes me wonder why no one has opened a bookstore here before!

This interview has been edited and condensed.