Bluestem Books leaves its Haymarket home
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By MARGARET REIST / Lincoln Journal Star
Pat and Scott Wendt have spent their adult lives finding good stories, the kind bound in hard covers, hidden in the printed page, waiting to be read.
They have a story, too.
To find it, one must wander under the O Street viaduct, walk beneath scaffolding and around construction equipment, climb a few steps onto an old loading dock and follow the musty smell through the open doors.
Bluestem Books, which has been at 712 O St. for 24 years, is moving to 137 S. Ninth St. and anticipates reopening next weekend. To find out more about the bookstore, go to http://bluestembooks.com/.
That’s where it began, 24 years ago, in a quirky space they named Bluestem Books.
The Wendts, a couple of English and history majors who met in college and let their love of books shape their lives, opened the used bookstore in 1984.
They began nine years earlier, collecting books at their home, selling them through the mail, raising four children and working other jobs to make ends meet.
Their dream, though, was to have a store, a place full of the books they love. So when the space under the O Street viaduct opened up, they jumped.
“It was just a warehouse when we moved in,” said Pat.
No Historic Haymarket with kitschy stores and trendy restaurants. Just an old loading dock they shared with a couple of artists, a vintage clothing store owner and an antique dealer.
They spent the next years building a business that defied every business model ever floated by the experts.
For years, Thurber the cat met customers at the door, a loyal clientele kept them afloat and Pat and Scott Wendt bought books.
They liked the used stuff, in part because of the hunt, but Scott says they’re drawn to anything that interests them, not pricey collectibles.
And so, over the years they’ve developed a great collection of quilting books. The fly fishing section grew as Scott’s love of the sport did. The cooking collection was driven by Pat, the growing children’s section by five grandchildren.
And that brings us to the story’s conflict, if you will, the point some months ago when the building’s owner, Robert Scott, let the Wendts know that redevelopment plans for the building didn’t include a musty used bookstore.
He was nice about it, Pat recalled, and he wanted to give them time to find a new place.
They’d known the day would come that they’d have to move, but it was tough.
“We had a sword hanging over our heads for 24 years,” Pat said.
Moving was daunting. They had amassed 40,000 books.
“We knew we’d have to move, but a person has to be insane to move a bookstore,” Scott Wendt said.
So their landlord gave them a nudge. And then a friend who ran the So-Oh Fine Art at 137 S. Ninth St. said she was moving and offered them the space.
Finding a new place helped, but moving still seemed impossible. They started slowly, then rented a truck over Memorial Day weekend.
And then everyone turned out to help.
“We just have the best friends in the world,” said Pat.
About 20 people —including bookstore owners from Omaha and Valentine — pitched in.
They hauled boxes of books (Scott estimates there are 1,200 of them), they’re helping rebuild shelves to fit the new space and they’re doing whatever else they need to do help Bluestem Books settle into its new home.
It’s a good new home, say the Wendts. It has a glass front, it’s easier to find and it has lots of nooks and crannies. The old store was quaint, but dark.
“We’re so happy to be out in the sunlight,” Scott said.
Pat figures all the memories they’ve collected in the old store will move to the new place, along with the books.
Longtime employee Steve Haack will be there, and so will the Wendts’ daughter and daughter-in-law and two granddaughters who work at the bookstore.
And Diego (actually Don Diego de la Bluestem), the furry white pooch who joined the Wendts three years ago, will continue to greet customers at the front door.
“It’s still Bluestem Books,” said Pat. “It’s just going to be cleaner and better lit.”
And she figures that’s about as happy an ending as she could have wished for.
At least for this chapter of the story.
Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com
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This does, however, make me wonder about the future of the haymarket... "
I guess this is the price of progress. The artists and other small business' will have to try and find other less expensive venues for a home. Where will the next Haymarket be? "