Back of Beyond Books For Sale
I am delighted to announce that 2021 will be our best year ever in the trade. We’ve achieved a good mix of new, used and rare books, plus a fun quirky assortment of gift items, cards, puzzles and sidelines. The store has never looked better and is on solid footing.
for more information. We kindly ask that you do not call or ask employees at the store about details. Steve Hitchcock at Touchstone Business Advisors, LLC is the sole contact for information. Please DO, however spread the word or get a hold of Steve if you’re a serious candidate to own this iconic store. We are only selling the business, not the building, but will work with a buyer to ensure Back of Beyond stays in the same location in which it opened 32 years ago.
Twenty Years Selling Books
October 2021 marks a milestone of sorts in my evolution as a bookseller. While I sold books for the Canyonlands Natural History Association in the early 90’s at the Island in the Sky, and worked evenings at Back of Beyond Books in the mid 90’s, I became a full on bookseller/owner upon opening Arches Book Company in October 2001. Arches Book Company had a full service coffee bar, a huge magazine section and an emphasis on genre fiction and gift items. Back of Beyond Books became available in 2004, and with additional investors, I soon had a controlling interest in a second bookstore. A year later we went all in and opened ABC & Beyond Used Books in McStiff’s Plaza.
Even though Amazon was rapidly chipping away the market share in books, the three stores thrived until 2008.
How quickly things changed with the Great Recession, and by 2011 we had downsized to just one storefront, Back of Beyond Books. Ironically, the recession forced me to develop an added revenue stream not dependent on walk in traffic, and our Rare Book Department was born. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the experiences of the last 20 years and the ability to adapt quickly to a changing market.
For me, as incredible as it is to type these words, the decision to sell feels right and I look forward to focusing on our new two-person rare book business, Stellar Books and Ephemera.
Photo Caption:
Moab Geologist Mike Price inspects Simon Winchester's The Map That Changed the World, and would forever be known as the first customer of Arches Book Company.
