Portland Bookstore: Broadway Books

Broadway Books

Burritos and books.  Who knew that all it would take to get people to buy books is the promise of meat, cheese, beans, and rice wrapped in a warm tortilla.  Of course there was a little bit more to it than that.  A son’s love for his mother, Portland’s love and ethos for all things local, and a little bit of social networking, all led to smiles on the faces of the owners of Broadway Books come Christmas time.

If you didn’t hear about the “Burritos for Books” story, you can see the original post here.  That led to this, this, this, and this.  Which in turn led to this and this.  After that you knew it wouldn’t be too long before the “First, Live, and Local” crowd caught on.  It truly is an amazing story, and in the end it really was never about the burritos.

Hopefully what came about from this “viral” event is more people becoming aware of what a great service to the community Broadway Books provides.  The owners and employees behind it, who are passionate about the books they offer and the customers they befriend.  The books that can be found in the store, including a wonderful collection of biographies, the best collection of books concerning Jewish affairs, and a growing collection of graphic novels.  As well as the always entertaining events held at Broadway, which often times highlight one of Portland’s own literary talents. 

Broadway has been around nearly 17 years.  Some years were “lean and scary”, but those just led towards a greater appreciation of the “fat and fun” years.  The ownership relationship has changed a bit since opening, with the one constant being Roberta Dyer (the mother of “everydaydude,” or maybe more fittingly “burritodude”).  Roberta has been a “bookseller for 38 years” and doesn’t “yearn to do anything else with my professional life.”  One of the original owners, Gloria Borg Olds, has since retired from full time duties but still puts in a four hour shift once a week to be around what she helped to create.  A recent addition to the ownership group was Sally McPherson, a long time customer who happily accepted Roberta’s gracious offer to become a partner.  The “bookbroads”, their self given moniker, can also be follwed through the informative and consistently updated Broadway Books blog.

So if you’re in the Broadway neighborhood, don’t miss a chance to enjoy one of Portland’s treasures, just be sure to bring some chips and salsa.

Do you have any Broadway Books stories you would like to share?  Let us hear them in the comments below.