NORTHAMPTON — Walking downtown you might catch a glimpse of Broadside Bookshop’s front windows displaying artifacts collected over their past 50 years in operation. Once inside, you’ll find a store encapsulating the progressive, artsy vibe of Paradise City.

The downtown cornerstone store is at a crossroads, of sorts, today — in a good way. As Broadside prepares to celebrate its golden anniversary by inviting Pulitzer Prize winning local author Tracy Kidder in for a special reading and birthday celebration on Saturday, Sept. 21, it’s also in the process of an ownership transition in which two new owners are poised to join the team.

One of those new owners is Ted Clements, who would know something about the store’s history.

“I grew up here, and my dad (Bill Clements) is one of the other owners. I grew up reading in the kid section over there when I was 5 or 6,” said Clements, pointing to a part of the store at 247 Main St. “The ice cream place was next door. This place has been part of my whole life ... Growing up hanging out here every day after school, and I grew a love of reading from that.”

Now, Ted Clements is going to have a major say in carrying on the tradition of the people and owners who have operated the store for years. He is currently in the process of buying into the business with colleague Roz Kreshak-Hayden, and will eventually share an equal part with his father and fellow owners Nancy Felton and Roxie Mack. The current owners took over the store in 2001 after the death of its founder, Bruce MacMillan.

Kreshak-Hayden called the change “unique for handing down a business,” and “mirrors” the process by which the founder had left the store with his employees.

Broadside’s history

MacMillan opened the store in 1974 during the initial phases of downtown Northampton’s renaissance, when there were only a few occupied storefronts on Main Street. Kreshak-Hayden described MacMillan as “the soul of the store,” that had been “a very beloved figure in the community.” Over the years the store has hosted famous writers, such as visits made by Alison Bechdel, Eric Carle and Ocean Vuong.

“One of our best qualities is a kind of timelessness,” said Kreshak-Hayden. “Longtime customers know that there are elements of Broadside that are consistently the same and it is some of those idiosyncrasies that make us such a beloved institution in town. No matter the upheaval in the outside world we want people to know they can walk into Broadside and find the same cozy, little shop packed to the brim with books and curiosities.”

The store has featured occasional metamorphoses, nonetheless, including the transition from index cards to a computerized catalogue system, and the introduction of a romance section — a particularly popular genre now — with a special section that includes queer romances, both of which occurred in the past few years.

Ted Clements said that “fiction never goes away; it is always popular,” and Kreshak-Hayden adds that “books that connect you to the world,” such as the Kamala Harris’s autobiography, have been quite popular among buyers.

Kreshak-Hayden, who has worked at Broadside for four years, is a Smith College graduate in government studies who returned to the Pioneer Valley with her wife after bouncing between jobs in Boston.

Once back in Northampton, she got a job opening the bookshop each morning, fulfilling a dream of wanting to work at an independent bookstore. In her transition from employee to co-owner, she said there wasn’t a particular “aha!” moment along the way, but the conversations, connections, and experiences of the store keep her rooted at Broadside.

“The longevity that’s been here, people are so devoted to it,” she said. “We recently had a customer visit the store who grew up in Northampton and hadn’t been back in 20 years. They immediately remarked that the store had the same wonderful ‘bookstore smell’ she remembered from browsing the store as a little kid. That’s the kind of ineffable Broadside magic that stands the test of time.”

Another customer, Roz Triscoll, perusing books one day last week said she has frequented the store since it opened after she graduated from Smith College in the late 60s. According to her, the store has “gotten fuller and fuller, with more people working here ... it’s as if the entire experience has gotten richer over time, as well as the physical space itself,” where in addition to books are racks of greeting cards, tote bags, and other “bookish” merchandise.

As a writer, reading for Triscoll is “the same as food, and as important as what I eat,” affirming that she finds what she needs at Broadside.

One of Broadside’s newest patrons, Ira Nathan, an undecided first-year student at Smith College, came for the first time last week with her orientation group, and has since returned twice once bringing friends along.

“I thought it was really cute. I like the decor. It’s very cozy in here, which is what I look for in a bookstore,” said Nathan.

Aside from the importance of customer service in their business, the owners are also dedicated to making an environment that anticipates a good book.

“The fact is that you can a book for cheaper on Amazon or digitally, but the experience of coming into our store and picking up a book — the way it looks and the way it feels in your hand — that experience is as much a part of reading the book,” Kreshak-Hayden said.

Triscoll called the staff, which is made up of the owners and four other employees, “incredibly helpful and knowledgeable,” and Nathan shared that although the store didn’t carry one of the books for her classes, “the person behind the desk was still really helpful and got me a PIN.”

Clements said that since the pandemic people have been reading more, “which is great for independent bookstores.” The book sellers were forced to adapt, by offering more online service, for example.

The soon-to-be new owners say that customers choose Broadside because it offers something more personal and caring than a major corporation can provide.

“This is what got us through the pandemic and we are immensely grateful to our customers for keeping us here,” Kreshak-Hayden said.

Saturday’s celebration will take place at 6 p.m., featuring remarks by Kidder, and a tribute to the history of Northampton small businesses.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.