San Pedro bookstore's centennial speaks volumes
L.A. THEN AND NOW
It's where Navy men, poets and English actors once rubbed elbows; where an 8-year-old girl spent her Depression-era allowance on paperbacks; and where a Welshman started his life in America near the turn of the 20th century, on a street of bars and brothels.
Williams' Book Store turns 100 this month, and with the landmark birthday owners and patrons are celebrating a century of memories as varied as the books on the green wooden shelves that line the downtown San Pedro institution.
E.T. Williams, who ran a used bookstore in his native Wales, founded the business in 1909 on Beacon Street near the Long Beach Harbor. Two world wars and 17 presidents later, Williams' is the oldest continuously operating bookstore in the Los Angeles area.
The business bounced around several locations in San Pedro as E.T. Williams scouted for cheap rent space, and has been at its current 1,400-square-foot location on 6th Street since 1988. Today, it's managing to outlast the chain retailers and the surge of online book-buying that's put a slew of independent booksellers out of business, including Dutton's Brentwood Books last year and the Orange County branch of Book Soup in 2007.
"It's been hard," said Anne Gusha, 89, who owns the store with her son Jerry Gusha, 56.
Anne and Jerry bought the business in 1980 from Williams' daughter, Ethel Williams-Smith, for about $25,000.
Their annual revenue averages between $180,000 and $200,000. Their peak business was 10 years ago, when they brought in $240,000, Jerry Gusha said.
"Some days we have good days, and some days we wonder if we're going to make it," Anne Gusha said. "I love books and I'd like books to stay forever, but unfortunately that's not the way it's going."
At a time when even large chains like Borders are reporting losses, Williams' is surviving by hanging onto a loyal customer base, stocking books on San Pedro history, and inviting Los Angeles-area authors like Lisa See and Ray Bradbury for appearances and signings.
And reflecting the demographics of San Pedro, the store also has an extensive collection of comics and Croatian and Italian newspapers, alongside mainstays like CliffsNotes, test prep books and bestsellers.
"One customer would go to Barnes & Noble, call us from their cellphone and ask us to order that book for them," Gusha said. "We try really hard to find books for people and look for out-of-print books for them."
