After 26 years in business, the owner of Burton’s Bookstore in Greenport is ready to write the final chapter as he prepares to retire.
George Maaiki, who bought the store, a beloved village institution, from its original owner, Joyce Burton, on Sept.1, 1988, announced Saturday that he is looking to find a new owner who will keep the bookstore operational in Greenport.
Maaiki said the decision wasn’t an easy one. “It took me three days to put the signs in the window,” he said. “It’s hard. It’s a quarter of a century.”
At 52, Maaiki said it’s time for him to move on to the next page of his personal journey. But his hope is that he can rent the store — Maaiki owns the building — to someone who shares his passion for literature, and who will keep the bookstore alive and well on Front Street.
“I think it needs new blood,” Maaiki said. “When I came in, I was young, in my 20s. I brought new ideas. I’m 52; I’m done. Now it’s a new generation. We need someone young to come in.”
The hope, he said, is that the new proprietor can integrate today’s technology, including Kindles and other electronic devices, while still staying true to the customers who love the feeling of an actual book in their hands.
One idea, Maaiki said, would be to expand the concept of the book shop in new directions; since putting up the signs announcing his retirement, two offers have already come in — one for a used record/book shop, and another, for a boutique that would also sell books.
Rena Casey-Wilhelm, who owns the shop next door, The White Weathered Barn, with her husband Jason said she was sad to see Maaiki step down, and hoped that whoever transforms the space stays true to his vision; the village, she said, needs a bookstore.
“We have a vested interest in who occupies the space and ultimately, we would love something aesthically compatible since it is one building,” she said.
Maaiki’s own journey began in Lebanon, where he was born. He first came to the United States in 1980 and met his wife, Lynn, in college, where he got his degree in political science. His wife, he said, had roots on Long Island, and so, the couple moved to Orient Point and started their family.
When Burton’s Bookstore — which was originally located on Bay Avenue and Main Street in Greenport — became available, at its current location at 43 Front Street, Maaiki saw his future unfold.
“I adore books,” he said. Even when he lived in California, Maaiki worked at Target — in the book department.
Although he loves to read, Maaiki said while 85 percent of his shop is stocked with fiction, his personal tastes run more toward world history and biographies.
And despite the new technology, Maaiki said he’s certain that those customers who seek actual books will keep the business alive. “In the summertime, it does not make a difference,” he said. “People want to come in and buy a book and go to the beach, go on their boat, have a picnic. Summertime is money.”
Parents always need books for their children’s school reading lists, and September brings the Maritime Festival. Fall means pumpkin pickers, and the Christmas season, he said, equals brisk sales. “Christmas and books go hand in hand,” Maaiki said.
Business dies down, he said, in January and remains slow through April, but a new incarnation of his shop, infused with new ideas and computer technology, could translate into a fresh surge of business even during the typically slower months.
As for Maaiki, he’s has plans for retirement. Fluent in Arabic, French and English, Maaiki said he might pursue work in translation, or in a field related to his political science degree.
“I want to go out in the world,” he said. “I want to have a summer.” Living on the beautiful North Fork, he said, “In 25 years, I don’t know what the Fourth of July is. I work very hard in the summer.” And during the winter months, when he does have free time, his wife is busy working — a fellow bibliophile, she’s the head of young adult services at the Mattituck-Laurel Library — and his daughter Sara, 21, is at school.
Maaiki said both he and his wife love to travel and future trips could be on the agenda, when he has much-anticipated free time.
Looking back, Maaiki said the most rewarding part of his experience at the bookstore has been the customers.
“Book people are different,” he said.” “Meeting all these people who love books, it’s different. I don’t worry about theft.”
Repeat clients, he said, have shared with him the stories of their lives. “I’ve had so many clients that I’ve known for 25 years, and sometimes, they pass away,” he said.
Others consider his bookstore a piece of their personal history. “I had a girl come in today who saw the signs in the window. She said, ‘Oh, no, this is my childhood.’ This kid used to come in when she was a baby. She graduated from ‘Curious George’ to teen books to adult books. Others kids I’ve watched grow up come back with their own children. Working behind the counter, I meet so many people. It’s going to be hard, the day I sign that contract.”
Maaiki said he has no definite deadline for retiring, but instead, will wait to find the right person, who will keep the bookstore alive and thriving in Greenport.
The business, he said, is a fixture in the village. “It’s been called Burton’s Bookstore since 1979,” he said.
Greenport, he said, has seen tremendous rebirth since he first hung up his proverbial hat on Front Street, with the business a great opportunity for a new owner to make their mark. And although he will be handing over the keys to the store, Maaiki said he will stay on to help the new owner during the transition — and assures that he has no plans to leave the North Fork.
“I’m not going to go anywhere,” he said. “This is home.”
