Long Island’s Bookstores | An Interview with Scott Raulsome
Scott Raulsome is the owner of Burton’s Bookstore in Greenport, NY. I wanted to know more about his journey to becoming a bookstore owner and how his strategies have changed since first opening up.
Jess Mannhaupt: What led you to becoming a Bookstore owner?
Scott Raulsome: I was working at Hofstra, I had been there about ten years. I was actually working on my masters in higher ed and realized I didn’t want to continue. So I was kind of in no man’s land for around six months. I didn’t know what my next move was gonna be. And my friend who works at Hofstra, she forwarded me this article from the Suffolk Times that said there was a bookstore for sale, that the owner was retiring and wants to sell. This was the spring of 2014. So I called him the next day, met him and saw that the place needed some work, but I said to myself I think I’m gonna do this! Took a few months but I did it!
JM: You said you modeled your renovations off indie bookstores in Vermont?
SR: Yea, very inspired by indie bookstores in New England, and just adding character and personal touch, and making it a place where you never know what you’ll find. We wanted to be different from any big chain stores.
JM: How would you describe yourself as a bookstore owner in 2014 vs. now in 2022 and through the pandemic?
SR: It’s very different. When I started I had no idea what I was doing. The previous owner basically left me with nothing. He filled up a garbage bag full of stuff and just left. I didn’t have a place to get books from, I didn’t have a business checking account. I really really started from scratch. At that time, Greenport seemed to be going through a sort of renaissance as far as people rediscovering the east end.
JM: With A Book Place opening up in Riverhead, and Barnes and Noble coming to Riverhead as well, where do you think that leaves Burton’s and what are your general opinions on them coming?
SR: I’m not happy about it. More power to the woman in Riverhead because that’s a walking downtown area that could have a bookstore. It's far enough away from me where I don’t view it as direct competition. There is a “more the merrier attitude” amongst booksellers. I wouldn’t want one opening down the block from me – but at the other end of the east end, there’s plenty of readers for the both of us.