Near the front door at The Bookshop in Lakewood, a tortoiseshell cat named Hobbes is fast asleep above the cash register.
“She commutes from home in her carrier every day,” said Courtney Brown — who co-owns and operates the bookshop with her wife, Becky. “People come from far and wide to visit her.”
Both seasoned booksellers and industry professionals, the Browns opened their cozy, general, used bookstore near the corner of Mars Street and Madison Avenue almost nine years ago.
But when Courtney came out as transgender just as the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns across the United States, she had no idea what to expect — least of all from customers at the bookshop.
Since then, the couple has seen a shift in clientele and a drop in book sales and trade-ins.
In one final effort to save the bookshop, Courtney took to Facebook last month, hoping to let LGBTQ+ Ohioans know about The Bookshop in Lakewood before it’s too late.
‘It’s about what we can do to survive’
In early 2021, Courtney joined swaths of newly-out transgender people returning to their lives and careers in-person for the first time since coming out.
“I’m part of a flood of people during the pandemic that had time to sit at home and go, ‘Well, why has none of this ever worked?’ If we line this all up, it actually does tell a complete story,” she said.
Soon, Courtney changed her name and began to dress and present more feminine behind the counter.
“We started to notice more recently that people will come up to the door, look inside and then just walk away,” she said.
“Of course, that just happens sometimes. They could just be checking the hours written on the door,” Becky added. “But this was not that. This [reaction] is very specific.”
Over time, the couple took note of more reactions.
“It’s the family that comes in and it’s usually the husband that sees me and tenses up,” Courtney said. “They walk [away from the counter] and take one quick lap before they leave.”
“We suddenly have tons of nice books about trains, because the people who usually would have bought them stopped coming in,” Courtney said. “Right now, it’s about what we can do to survive.”
Coming out and embracing change
In a January 3, Facebook post that garnered hundreds of likes and shares, Courtney publicly came out as trans.
“The last thing I ever wanted to do was come out on Facebook to 2,000 customers,” Courtney said. “I always said I’d never do that, but I sort of just had to.”
“Transitioning in an open, mixed demographic shop has been… interesting,” she wrote in the post. “We have seen people, from first time visitors to long time customers, turn around and leave upon seeing a trans person behind the counter.”
“We’ve met some great people from the local queer community over the last couple of years,” the post continues. “But not enough to make up for the recent losses.”
Without an uptick in sales, trade-ins and consistent community involvement, the bookshop will close before the end 2023.
Part of sparking that uptick is letting LGBTQ+ Ohioans know that The Bookshop in Lakewood is trans owned and operated.
For many LGBTQ+ customers, the security of knowing that they will be welcomed with respect while they shop goes a long way — particularly in light of the hundreds of pieces of anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced across the country since 2020.
“This is my store,” Courtney said. “I really won’t tolerate much. If somebody crosses a line, they need to leave.”
Supporting The Bookshop in Lakewood
The bookshop’s business model hinges on rotating stock.
To keep their pricing accessible for everyone, the Browns individually price each book that comes through their doors, then offer direct store credit for the amount each book is worth.
To survive, the bookshop will need a lot more small trade-ins on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
“You don’t need to bring this giant stack of books every time you come in,” Courtney said. “Come in every few weeks with one or two books and leave with some new ones!”
The bookshop can accommodate special book and audiobook orders via a partnership with Bookshop.com, and customers can also shop a special selection of used books online — complete with free delivery within Lakewood city limits for any order over 20 dollars.
Over the years, the bookshop has played host to silent reading clubs, book signings and ‘Work in Progress’ nights, where attendees are encouraged to bring along their own creative projects to work on side by side.
The Browns hope new community events will blossom — and pay off — in the end.
“I am seeing more queer clientele,” Courtney said. “If I keep on seeing queer titles showing up and people start coming in to get those, it will slowly start to change the whole store.”
The couple hope that change will help keep the doors open — and let Hobbes rest a little easier in her favorite spot above the cash register.
Ignite Action:
- Visit The Bookshop in Lakewood online, or in-person at 15230 Madison Ave, Lakewood, OH.
- To stay up to date on events, follow The Bookshop in Lakewood on Facebook and Instagram.
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