Invasion of Privacy: Fred Mingino, the owner of Sundance Books
Photo courtesy of Sundance Books via Facebook
Sundance Books is a small yet incredibly homey shop located right on Main Street, wedged between Envy Hair Salon and Main Moon. Sundance Books has been open since 1972, bringing in countless students, residents, and more over the years, supplying the local community with affordable options to buy and sell books. You may have walked past or even into this lovely shop occasionally, but what may have slipped your mind is the wonderful owner of the shop: Fred Mingino. He is the second-ever owner of Sundance Books, running the store since 2013.
Recently, Mingino spoke with staff writer Alexander Healy regarding his history with the store, offering some insight into the present state of the store, as well as some of Mingino’s favorite stories from his time there.
This interview opened with a discussion about when Mingino took over the store. As circumstances would have it, the former owner wanted to shut down the store, not seeing it as viable for him to continue business among other factors. But this did not sit right with Mingino, who would go on to form a partnership from a pre-existing friendship with the man, together successfully creating a plan to prevent the store from going under while still ensuring the former owner did not lose money on their remaining stock. He commented that this was an unusual partnership but one he does not regret, as it was with a good friend and someone who made the transition of ownership very easy, given neither wanted to see the store go away.
The conversation then turned to book sales. Mingino discussed the flow of sales that came since his taking over of the store: “There was a big decrease right about when I took it over. Amazon was slamming all book stores and many were shutting down.” He added that sales in the years following “leveled out” due to the campus environment. However, things changed when the store reduced its hours of operation: “We cut our hours down to 12 hours a week, [and] obviously, business went down… it stays lower and it's lower now than it was then because I'm not open. [I’m] just not here enough. But I'm only here to keep this place open, not here to survive.” He really stressed the importance of keeping this store open not just for legacy, but accessibility.
Mingino also commented on the biggest sellers in the store: “We have a good history section in nonfiction and politics…But I would say fiction and science fiction are the big sellers,” noting that he “thinks it has always been the case.” He also mentioned two of his personal favorite recommendations in the process: The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami (his current reading material) and a long time favorite, The Secret History by Donna Tart. He made it clear that one should not take these recommendations lightly: “I'm real careful about recommendations, because I want to make sure [the piece is] really good, because everybody's [taste is] different,” though there are hundreds of others that come to mind. The amount of books and varied genres coating Sundance’s walls reflect this well.
The conversation briefly transitioned to Mingino’s life outside of Sundance Books. He added that “My wife and I own Touch of Grayce,” commenting on the fulfillment they get out of operating both businesses. Mingino reinforced the idea that he runs this store for the sake of sustaining an enduring “mom-and-pop” style bookstore.
In concluding the interview, Mingino commented on a recent encounter on the day of the Walter Harding Lecture, which featured the acclaimed eco-fiction guest speaker Jeff VanderMeer. Mingino recounted how a student had come by his shop to buy a trilogy of VanderMeer’s the day of the lecture, reminding him to advertise his stock of the writer’s books: “I grabbed his new hardcover and I'm putting it in the window. All of a sudden, this guy walks by and goes, ‘Hey, you want me to sign that for you?’ And it's Jeff.” After this, Mingino and VanderMeer got to chitchat and share some laughs before the author lectured. On a comedic note, VanderMeer posted about the encounter, saying, “[Fred] was flabbergasted as he'd just *thought* I might feel dissed if I walked by and didn't see it there.”
Businesses like Sundance Books are full of individuals with unique experiences to share and fascinating life-gathered stories to share. You never know who you might meet out walking the town, so take a chance and explore our neighborhood!