A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
History teacher opens store in Carlton space
A charming new bookstore at the corner of Chestnut and Third Street in Carlton offers a variety of new and gently used books, puzzles, and an owner who knows his local history.
New bookstore owner and Carlton High School history teacher Ryan Schmidt stands behind the counter at N.P. Junction Books, impossible to miss in one of his trademark loud button-up shirts, this one awash in presidential portraits, the Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty and plenty of stars and stripes.
"Can I get this one?" pleads Levi Grussendorf, 4, who is joined inside the old bank vault by his siblings Lucas, 8, and Evelyn, 6, Saturday at N.P. Junction Books. The vault serves as the childrens section of the store.
Carlton social studies teacher Ryan Schmidt always dreamed of opening a hometown bookstore after retiring.
Instead, he opened last week, just in time for Carlton Daze. The new N.P. Junction Books is located at 110 Third St., at the four-way stop, kittycorner from Third Base Bar.
“It’s been an idea for six or seven years, then I started talking a little more seriously in about 2022,” Schmidt said. “Then I had the opportunity to do it a little sooner.”
Schmidt did more than just open a bookstore. He bought the entire corner. That includes the bookstore space (a former bank), SoulShine Salon & Spa and the Loon’s Nest coffee shop building. The other businesses will continue to rent their space from Schmidt, he said.
He is not retiring. His son Peyton will run the store while Schmidt is teaching.
Inside, the only reminder of the bookstore’s former life as a bank is the giant vault in the middle of the store, now a special space for children to browse or read books. The exterior walls are stripped back to the original brick; the ceiling is a maze of wood boards previously hidden behind ceiling tiles. Boxes sit in a back room that will become a cozy place to sit by a fireplace, once the furniture arrives.
“I love that he used this as the children’s book room,” said Laurie Grussendorf, who brought her kids in for a look around.
Last weekend saw plenty of folks stopping in to browse. Schmidt knew many of them.
“We’re hoping it becomes kind of a community center, a place for people not just to come and buy books and puzzles, but to hang out and kind of meet with each other,” he said.
Schmidt stands behind the counter, impossible to miss in one of his trademark loud button-up shirts, this one awash in presidential portraits, the Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty and plenty of stars and stripes.
Considering he’s a history teacher, it is the perfect uniform for the affable well-educated Carlton native.
The Pine Knot took advantage of a quiet moment Saturday to talk with Schmidt about this new family adventure.
Pine Knot News: Why did you call the bookstore N.P. Junction?
Schmidt: It stands for “Northern Pacific Junction,” the original name of Carlton. They ended up naming it after Reuben Carlton, but at first it was N.P. Junction for quite a while. The front part of the bookstore is basically original to the town — I don’t know the exact date but probably 1870s-1880s.
How has the reception been?
Busy. A lot of people are excited to have something like this without having to go to Duluth. A Wrenshall High School gal was in. Her comment was she’s never going to Barnes & Noble again. Lots of people are asking about book clubs and things like that. Eventually we’ll try to do some book signings and events like that.
What kind of books do you have?
It’s pretty general because we wanted to have something for everyone. So if you walk around, you’ll see there’s a lot of different labeled sections. Some local books, but we’d like to have more. We have new and used books.
We have a trade-credit program, so someone could bring their gently used books. We’ll take a peek. If they’re something we think we can sell, we’ll give them a portion back in store credit that they can use on anything in the store. We’ll usually end up selling the used books at roughly half the retail price of a new book.
What made you decide to take the leap now?
When my dad passed, he was like, ‘Why wait until retirement?’ He left all of us kids some money and he [told me], ‘I think you should do it.’ And I was like, ‘I can do it now then.’ Peyton happened to be available to run it while I still teach, because I’m not quite ready to be done with that yet.
Is it just you and Peyton?
No. My oldest, Will, is off in the Army, so he’s not [too engaged yet]. Kyleah is in Nebraska, but has been helping virtually with decorating choices. Peyton will be managing and Sophia will probably work some shifts as well. Abrianna is leaving for school but will help when she’s home. My mom has also been helping with the decorating, so it’s a true family affair.
N.P. Junction Books hours (for now) are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Search for NP Junction Books on Facebook, or visit the very well-developed website, http://www.npjunctionbooks.com. Find top book picks by Schmidt and his kids as well as information on many of the books in stock.
