A bookstore becomes a special place because its community supports it. So says Evan Schertz, the current owner and operator of Maria’s Bookshop, Durango’s beloved locally owned independent community bookstore, information hub and meeting place. This year, it’s celebrating 40 years of creating community connections through books.
Schertz, the son of Andrea Avantaggio and Peter Schertz, was 6 months old when his parents bought Maria’s from Dusty and Martha Teal in 1997. And Dusty bought what was then known as simply the Bookshop from Michael Schultz. The original owner was Don Barcus, as chronicled in John Peel’s 2018 monograph, “The Story of a Colorado Bookstore.”
A theme emerged in our discussion with a few of the previous owners this week that is not usually associated with a business, that of stewardship. Andrea and Peter talk about their stewardship of Maria’s, gently holding this space as it has been carried and nurtured from one owner to the next, and its incredible staff of 20, now lying in Evan’s able hands.
Jeanne Costello, Maria’s general manager and lead book buyer, has been with Maria’s for 19 of the shop’s 40 years. And Julie Shimada, kids books and gift buyer, has been a part of Maria’s family for 20 years. When asked about memorable experiences, Ed Abbey’s and Renny Russell’s author visits came up, as did Craig Childs, Kevin Fedarko and a recent live Magic City podcast by Kirbie Bennett and Jamie Wanzek.
Terry Tempest Williams’ 2001 visit was also memorable. Andrea remembers Williams remarking how relieved she was to be home in the West and held by a literary community after returning from a trip back East just after Sept. 11.
Evan is incredibly grateful for what he calls the intentional support and community decision Durango has made in its commitment to the bookshop over the past 40 years. He also wanted to give his parents credit for Maria’s growth. Humble by nature, it is not their inclination to seek this credit, but it is certainly due.
Each of the previous owners talked about the early beautiful space Dusty created that remains among the values Maria’s upholds and is central to the community’s embrace. To this day, local artists adorn Maria’s walls (no commission is taken) and many host their first art show at the shop.
The other two values center on the store inventory and delivering excellent customer service. River rats, canyoneers, hikers and skiers, Dusty and Mary Anne Griffin, lifetime friend and Dusty’s first GM, reflected their love of the landscape with shelves stocked with Western literature, nature writers and topo maps.
Over time, Mary Anne realized the need to turn it into a bookshop that could serve everyone. Andrea spoke to the inventory and how much fun it was to source books for customers slowly increasing the diversity of books based upon interests held by the community.
The 500 to 600 people lucky enough to attend the 40th celebration on Sept. 28 were regaled with memories, stories, music, seeing old and making new friends, staff member reunions, and Maria’s vision for the future.
That vision was shared with the community that night as the new Maria’s Literary Foundation was introduced. The nonprofit plans to build on the last 40 years of serving Southwest Colorado through access to books and literary programming by continuing to connect “the perfect book with the right reader, and the power of a literary event to inspire our community.”
Though not yet formed, the Foundation has been at work expanding access to books for some time working with Community Compassion Outreach, La Plata Family Centers Coalition and Manna to make books available for those who might not otherwise have access to them. More information about the foundation can be found on Maria’s website at mariasbookshop.com.
Congratulations to Maria’s current and previous owners and staff members for 40 years of connecting our community with books and one another. And “cheers” to another 40.
If you missed the 40th year celebration, join in to the foundation’s fundraising efforts on a full moon Friday, Nov. 15, for a fun, casual time with drinks, friends and, of course, books!
