When you first walk into the only bookstore in Vallejo, you’re greeted with the warm scent of books and atmospheric music. You’ll hear the regulars talking to the owner, Karen Finlay, about the book they just read or about a local event going on. Then, Finlay will help scour the shelves to locate the perfect book just for you. This is the heart of learning and community in downtown Vallejo, Alibi Bookshop.
On June 1st 2019, Alibi Bookshop opened its doors, promising Vallejo a new general-interest bookstore. 5 years later, this store has turned into a pillar of a growing downtown.
Finlay and her husband bought a house in Vallejo in 2017, and they immediately got involved in the community. They frequented local businesses, including the used bookstore that they would soon own.
The previous owner of the bookstore realized that it’s not easy to sell books in Vallejo, and asked them if they wanted to buy it. “I was like ‘oh my god no,’ but Vallejo needed a bookstore so I said yes.” As she often quotes herself, Neil Gaiman once said “a town isn’t a town without a bookstore,” and she took that to heart.
“It was always a dream, and it’s everyone’s dream to own a charming little bookstore… but I was always realistic” Finlay recounts, as those dreams would one day be a reality.
Downtown Vallejo has been dead for a long time. There are a few staples businesses downtown, but not many. “People in Vallejo want and deserve a good downtown, but it’s a group effort. People need to come downtown.” Finlay states. “Shopping locally is the easiest activism you can do.”
After Alibi opened, many businesses started popping up downtown, thanks to bookstores being “anchor businesses” as Finlay pointed out. If a bookstore can survive, especially through a pandemic, its plausible other businesses could too.
Finlay has always loved books since learning to read at 3 years old, she’s had her head in a book ever since. She found that reading can be a communal activity, “When you have books to talk about, it invites conversation, teaches you empathy, teaches you critical thinking, and it’s always an escape.”
She worked in bookstores all through highschool, college, and beyond. “You go into a bookstore and the world is in this tiny space.”
She would then begin working for publishing company Lonely Planet for many years, and learned even more about the back end of bookstores through that. So, even though it was a huge risk opening a bookstore in a depressed downtown Vallejo, and in a culture that doesn’t read as much anymore, she had the knowledge she needed to succeed.
Part of Alibi’s charm is the equal amount of love for Vallejo and books. There’s a big section in the bookstore dedicated to local history and artists. Even though Finlay isn’t from Vallejo, she’s from the Bay Area, and is dedicated to making Vallejo a better and brighter place. “There’s no money in this… but it’s worth it.” Alibi Bookshop still isn’t self-sufficient, but the dream is to get there one day. “All you can do is just keep making your corner better.”
