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The Happy Bookseller, Richland Mall / 4525 Forest Drive: 31 October 2008   24 comments

Posted at 1:33 am in closing

(Pictures 30 September 2008 & 1 November 2008)

The Happy Bookseller opened in another world than ours, a world called 1974. In some ways, it was a world very like our own, but in other ways it was very different. You might, were you to find your deLorean transported there, be able to find your way around town with very little trouble -- Although buildings have come and gone since then, the major thoroughfares and landmarks of today's Columbia largely existed. What you would have trouble navigating would be the media landscape. Columbia had three commercial television stations: WIS (channel 10) for NBC, WOLO (channel 25) for ABC and WLTX (channel 19) for CBS. Of the three, only WIS occupied a coveted spot in the VHF range and only WIS had good reception throughout the Columbia metro area. The other two UHF stations (and the fledgling ETV network station WRLK on channel 35) worked best if you put tinfoil on the rabbit ears and stood in just the right spot in the room. Few people had cable, and those who did only got a few extra "trash" stations like WTBS out of Atlanta -- there were no CNN, BRAVO or MTV. Nobody had a computer at home. The ARPANET barely existed and few dreamed it would become The Internet, or what that might mean.

Printed media was a different world as well. Dutch Square had been open a few years, and there was a Waldenbooks there which focused on paperbacks and bestsellers. Capitol Newsstand on Main Street was mainly magazines with a modest number of new paperbacks; there was a small specialty bookstore in Trenholm Plaza and the various locations of The Richland County Public Library and that was about it for Columbia and books.

Richland Mall at the time was still an open-air promenade anchored by J. B. White, Woolworth's, The Redwood Cafeteria and grocery stores. The Happy Bookseller started in Richland Mall on the far side of the promenade (the side away from Beltline Boulevard), and if I recall correctly, just a bit Whites-ward of Woolworths; that is you would come out of Woolworths, cross to the other side and head just a bit towards Whites to get to The Happy Bookseller. Along the way, you would pass some of the concrete animals which gave the mall a homey touch -- I remember a grinning turtle in particular.

When the ill-conceived "upgrade" to Richland Mall started (the process that has left us with the largely empty "Midtown at Forest Acres" [though I refuse to call it that]), The Happy Bookseller found itself priced out of a home and made the move down Forest Drive, towards Trenholm Plaza, to the spot it occupied until yesterday. The new location was quite a bit larger than the original store, and the staff took advantage of it by increasing their stocking depth. I recall that when I was in grad school, I even found a copy of Doug Comer's XINU book on operating system construction -- a pretty obscure computer science topic for a general interest store.

I don't know where the name of the store came from for sure -- I've always assumed it was playing off the bestselling (and notorious) 1971 book called The Happy Hooker, drawing an amusing contrast between two very different paths to happiness, but I could be completely wrong about that. At that time, it was certainly a name that caught your attention, though that was hardly the only thing the store had going for it. In particular, despite it's initially rather cramped quarters, Rhett Jackson decided to make The Happy Bookseller a real general interest bookstore in a way the others in town largely weren't. You could certainly get paperbacks and bestsellers at The Happy Bookseller, but they tried to have a bit more depth than that. I know that I really had only a limited appreciation of that in the beginning, given that I was 13, but over the years I would notice that the store always had a slightly different mix in science-fiction and humor, the two sections I perused most, and later that they were quicker than the chains to pick up on the fact that (some) graphic novels weren't just well-bound comic books and when I became interested in history, I found much more depth there than anywhere but the main library.

Jackson and the store were interested in bringing literature to Columbia and in promoting Columbia literature as well. An author I know had a number of signings for her books there though she has never been approached by one of the big-box stores like Barnes & Noble, even though she is with a well-regarded national publisher, has been well reviewed and sells a respectable number of books. They simply don't devote resources to local authors unless a directive comes down from corporate.

So, after lasting 34 years and being widely beloved, why did The Happy Bookseller close. Well, look in the mirror -- I know I have. Apart from retirements, tragedies, and the like, stores generally close when they aren't making money, and they don't make money when people don't shop there. I was amused when I was working in Augusta and Macy's pulled out of Augusta Mall. When the plan was announced, some of the locals started a petition saying how much they loved Macy's and how it should stay. My thought was that while someone in Macy's mailroom might appreciate their petition, what would keep the store in town was enough people buying stuff there that they made money. And it's the same, I'm afraid, for The Happy Bookseller.

Remember that different world of 1974? Well, we're not living there anymore, for better and for worse. Just on the local retail level, Columbia has four big-box bookstores that have more floorspace than The Happy Bookseller could ever dream of. They can get volume deals from publishers that a local store can't, and even when they are indifferently run (and not all of them are) they can stock in depth in a way a small store simply can't due to the laws of physics and the inability of more than one object to occupy the same space at the same time. And that's just local retail. I haven't even mentioned The Internet yet.

I recall that once, after my father stopped driving, he was looking for a particular book and wanted me to take him to The Happy Bookseller. I don't recall what it was, probably something about opera or English literature, but as it happened, they did not have a copy. That's understandable, I think it was fairly obscure. Anyway, we were in the stacks looking where it would be, and I suggested we drive over to Books-a-Million and see if they had it. He said he would rather have The Happy Bookseller order it. I argued that might take a while, and it's possible we could find it that same day. He looked at me, and said with one of his old fashioned turns of phrase Yes, but I would rather give this store my trade.

In the end, that's what not enough of us did -- give this store our trade. I include myself. I enjoyed browsing the store, and if I saw something I liked, I would buy it. But.. If I discovered I needed a technical book, or found an interesting sounding book mentioned in an online forum I was much more likely to point my browser at Amazon.com than drive to The Happy Bookseller even though it was only a few miles away. That's disintermediation, and it's been even worse for music stores. Given my general night-owl nature, I was also much more likely to find myself in a big-box store at 10pm wandering around drinking coffee and buying books I saw there rather than remembering what they were and getting them at The Happy Bookseller. So, as we shopped online, or shopped elsewhere The Happy Bookseller did what it could. They tried a coffee bar, which didn't last too long, and then a lunch counter which did a bit better, but at the end of the day, the numbers just weren't there to continue and so at the end of the day, they couldn't.

So, thanks folks, for helping us out of that 1974 media wasteland. I know that in the end the future didn't turn out as any of us expected, but it was a great ride!

UPDATE 9 October 2020: Adding full street address to the post title. Updating tags and adding map icon.

Written by ted on November 2nd, 2008

Tagged with , , , , ,

24 Responses to 'The Happy Bookseller, Richland Mall / 4525 Forest Drive: 31 October 2008'

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  1. I think Rhett Jackson (formerly of Rhett Jackson Carpets) first opened the Happy Bookseller in the space on Forest Drive where his carpet store had been - later it was a Hardee's - around the corner from Miyo's and across from a wallpaper store. And he named it that because he was finally getting to do something he had always wanted to do - open a bookstore. I don't remember it being at Richland Mall.

    Deborah

    30 Aug 09 at 8:56 am

  2. Hmm, I don't recall it being where the Italian Pie was *at all*..

    It definitely *was* at Richland Mall though. The "original" open-air Richland Mall -- it moved when they built the enclosed "Richland Fashion Mall" disaster.

    ted

    30 Aug 09 at 11:05 pm

  3. ted; Deborah -- I would definitely remember if that Hardee's building at 3246 Forest Drive had ever been a carpet store. You must be remembering some place nearby. Up the hill closer to Providence Hospital, maybe?

    The Happy Bookseller was originally The Happy Booker, right? "The Happy Hooker" was really well known about the time the store opened.

    Dennis

    31 Aug 09 at 9:14 am

  4. I met Rhett & Betty Jackson in 1976 when I was a college student working part-time at Woolworth's. The bookstore was toward Winn-Dixie and not White's. I remember Berry's Mens Shop and Mr. Popper's being on the way. One of my fondest memories was spending nearly all of my 60-minute supper hour talking to a young writer named Pat Conroy who was autographing books. I recall the carpet store being closer to the 3250 Forest Drive strip of stores and definitely not in the old Hardee's/Italian Pie location. I'll confirm with the family.

    Becky Pittman

    5 Feb 11 at 10:59 pm

  5. I' m pretty sure that the Rhett Jackson carpet store was where Blockbuster is now. There was nothing where Miyo's is now, and the building at the back where some kind of kid's place is now was Jack's discount shoes, but was originally built as (I think) as the warehouse for the Pet-A-Rama store.

    Cary

    6 Feb 11 at 9:15 pm

  6. @Cary-Your are correct about Blockbuster on Forest Drive. Rhett Jackson also owend another location on North main at one point. Before he went into carpets, he owned a coupkle of furniture stores that was bought out by Rhodes. one was off of I-126 near the zoo.

    Jackson also used to do a morning sports show on either WNOK FM or WXRY FM with former USC head football coach Warren Giese back in the 1970s and 1980s.

    Tom

    7 Feb 11 at 5:18 pm

  7. Rhett Jackson was a natural born self promoter, and a good one. He was personable, and played the Southern Gentleman to a T.

    He'd gone into the furniture business in North SC (with his in-laws?), and used to do TV commercials in the ''50ws "Hi I'm Rhett Jackson and I'm sitting in a La-Z-Boy recliner . . ." and convince folks to drive down to North -- a long haul in the pre-interstate '50s -- to buy one. He later had the carpet business.

    In '74, I had just taken a contract to set up and run Wing Bookstore on Knox Abbott Dr., when Rhett and Mrs. Jackson started the Happy Bookseller. At first I wondered how a furniture and carpet guy could succeed in the retail book business, but succeed he did.

    When the State and Record newspapers wanted a quote from a bookseller, they went to Rhett instead of to any of Columbia's other booksellers. This in spite of the fact that we bought advertising in their pages and (at the time) he didn't.

    The guy just knew how to make it happen. Glad he succeeded all those years. He deserved it.

    Sid

    5 Feb 12 at 10:39 pm

  8. Never heard of Wing bookstore on Knox Abbott. Where was it?

    tonkatoy

    6 Feb 12 at 8:04 am

  9. Wing Bookstore was at 989 Knox Abbott Dr., in the same two story brick building with Wing Publications. Across the parking lot from the old Tony's Pizza that had the red and white checkered roof. Last time I was in Cayce, the building was still there.

    Sid

    6 Feb 12 at 8:20 am

  10. OK, never knew a bookstore was there. that building held the ZipSheet offices in the mid-late nineties and had an Enterprise rental car agency at one time.

    tonkatoy

    6 Feb 12 at 10:27 am

  11. My grandparents are the Jacksons, and I grew up in the Richland Mall location and worked in the Forest Drive location. He named the store the Happy Bookseller because selling books made him very happy. They are both in their late eighties now and would still be running it if health allowed. Thank you for your comments and for the photos.

    Tara

    6 Dec 13 at 10:29 am

  12. Nice try to disguise your realtor spam. Enjoy your "Closed Bookstore Tour '14" !!

    Mike

    21 May 14 at 5:05 am

  13. I agree with Deborah & Cary. The Happy Bookseller originally occupied the space where Rhett Jackson’s carpet store had been located (Forest Drive/Sunnyside Dr.). There had also been a grocery store on that block, The Colonial Store, which moved to Richland Mall when it opened. Blockbuster & Hardee’s didn’t exist until years later.
    Becky is also correct; when The Happy Bookseller re-located to RM it was towards Winn-Dixie.

    JessieJ

    28 May 16 at 12:13 pm

  14. Hi, Friends,

    My husband, Andy Graves, bought the Happy Bookseller from the Jacksons in part in 1996 with another partner and in full around 1999. I grew up shopping at the Richland Mall ovation. (I was born in 1972). I worked t the Happy Bookseller myself for 13 years - 1995 until closing in 2008. The Jacksons worked with us until the end except for Rhett who had some health issues as his granddaughter Tara mentions above. We not only faced competition from BAM and B & N, but later strongly from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. As a Sam’s customer you could buy the latest Harry Potter for a penny less than our store could buy it wholesale! If we sold it at that price we wouldn’t have a penny to keep the lights on or take care of our employees. And then, we mustn’t forget Amazon that sold almost all bestsellers at cost.

    Rhett did indeed name the store after himself. He was, in every way, a very happy bookseller. Now, in just a decade, we see chains closing and independents coming back. Andy and I had a great plan to reduce the size of the HB drastically and sell it
    to someone who could curate an excellent collection for our hundreds of loyal customers. We had more than a dozen very serious contenders but it was the fall of 2008. Our lease was up and the market was crashing. It was just too risky of a time for buyers. We are proud that we survived as long as we did with big chains half a mile down the road on either side of us and walmart and Sam’s about a mile away. A BAM opened in Northeast Columbia also during this time, taking a lot of our school business from that area of town.

    In 2008 we weren’t a 1974 store anymore. We had an active website, we’re selling books online, had a robust computerized inventory and large school district and other business sales. Bookselling is jus too hard to make a profit in on our scale (6,000 sq. Ft.) without business from the general public, which had gone to the chains, Wal-Mart and Amazon. We love and miss our hundred of loyal customers.

    Carrie

    27 Mar 19 at 11:29 am

  15. Hi, Friends,

    My husband, Andy Graves, bought the Happy Bookseller from the Jacksons in part in 1996 with another partner and in full around 1999. I grew up shopping at the Richland Mall ovation. (I was born in 1972). I worked t the Happy Bookseller myself for 13 years - 1995 until closing in 2008. The Jacksons worked with us until the end except for Rhett who had some health issues as his granddaughter Tara mentions above. We not only faced competition from BAM and B & N, but later strongly from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. As a Sam’s customer you could buy the latest Harry Potter for a penny less than our store could buy it wholesale! If we sold it at that price we wouldn’t have a penny to keep the lights on or take care of our employees. And then, we mustn’t forget Amazon that sold almost all bestsellers at cost.

    Rhett did indeed name the store after himself. He was, in every way, a very happy bookseller. Now, in just a decade, we see chains closing and independents coming back. Andy and I had a great plan to reduce the size of the HB drastically and sell it
    to someone who could curate an excellent collection for our hundreds of loyal customers. We had more than a dozen very serious contenders but it was the fall of 2008. Our lease was up and the market was crashing. It was just too risky of a time for buyers. We are proud that we survived as long as we did with big chains half a mile down the road on either side of us and walmart and Sam’s about a mile away. A BAM opened in Northeast Columbia also during this time, taking a lot of our school business from that area of town.

    In 2008 we weren’t a 1974 store anymore. We had an active website, we’re selling books online, had a robust computerized inventory and large school district and other business sales. Bookselling is jus too hard to make a profit in on our scale (6,000 sq. Ft.) without business from the general public, which had gone to the chains, Wal-Mart and Amazon. We love and miss our amazing customers.

    Carrie

    27 Mar 19 at 11:29 am

  16. @Carrie, we miss all of you too!

    Tom

    28 Mar 19 at 1:42 pm

  17. Yes good times back then. My Mom would go shopping at Whites and would let me roam freely around the old Richland mall. Usually I would start off at Mr. Poppers then maybe over to Meri's record shop. Hickory Farms was always stopped at for a 10 cent beef jerky stick.At the end,I always ended up at the Happy Bookseller.Looking at all the books and magazines was a great joy. They also carried the original Dungeons and dragons manuals :-)

    John

    28 Mar 19 at 8:11 pm

  18. Oh, well. I think the closing of this store marked the beginning of the end for the era that I call my childhood. I was born in Columbia in 1991, and the time period, I would say between 1992 and 2010, is what I call the “Happy Years”. Columbia has never been a “hip hotspot”, but lots of stores and areas (Richland Mall, Forest Acres Generation 3 stores (mid 90’s to mid ‘00’s)) were at their best, or at least doing well. I remember growing up in the Forest Acres area, running around Richland Mall, hanging at out the Happy Bookseller, etc. It’s sad to see all of the stores that shaped my childhood go. I don’t care about whatever stupid trendy outlets take their place- anyone who grew up in Columbia during this time (born 1989-2004) can understand my sorrow.

    Paul

    2 Aug 19 at 6:03 pm

  19. Paul - I was born in 1988 and I went to Richland Mall a lot! I remember Sam Goody and the dollar store being there. Belk having two levels (I don't think you can still go to the second level now?). Anyway...apparently, bookstores have, in general, made more sales since 2017. People are getting tired of using their phones and tablets for so many things. They also want to own more physical items, something they can feel and hold after paying for it. I myself prefer paper books.

    Robin

    2 Aug 19 at 8:43 pm

  20. Robin- Let’s hope it goes back to the way it used to be, at least in some ways. In a few cases, change was inevitable, but books... well... they’re timeless. If only Richland Mall would come back to life...

    Paul

    3 Aug 19 at 5:31 pm

  21. Robin- Let’s hope it goes back to the way it used to be, at least in some ways. In a few cases, change was inevitable, but books... well... they’re timeless. If only the mall would come back to life...

    Paul

    3 Aug 19 at 5:31 pm

  22. I'm surprised that Richland Mall hasn't come back to life, at least with the scrapped "build condos in the mall" plan. A lot of those apartment-and-shopping communities are popping up now. I wonder why someone doesn't try it again with Richland Mall.

    Robin

    4 Aug 19 at 8:45 pm

  23. They should have left Richland Mall the way it was originally instead of tryin to do a "Fashion Mall".. Just remember, it's Columbia..not Charleston, not Atlanta or Charlotte NC. The last year it looked like it did was 1989 when they started to tear things down, and then build that ridiculous parking garage where no one seems to pay attention to others walking or driving. As the saying goes, if it aint broke, dont fix it. I say just tear down the whole thing and leave the old White's/Belk building, then build something else there. Richland Mall was built for the Forest Acres community originally as an alternative place to go other than downtown Columbia..it seemed to do rather good from the year it opened through the 1970's or so, but was pretty much a dead mall by the mid 80's.

    Del

    5 Aug 19 at 12:19 pm

  24. There was always a smart and generous fellow there who helped me navigate the science fiction & fantasy - pretty much all through the late 80s and 90s. I think his name was Brian..? Would love to get in touch with him!

    RobinD

    27 Aug 19 at 7:29 pm

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