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Elliott Bay Book Company: 50 Years of Bookselling and Still Growing

7/3/2024

By Zoe Perzo

Elliott Bay Book Company is a landmark of the Seattle indie scene and is undoubtedly one of the more well-known indie bookstores in the country. With more than 150,000 titles across some 20,000 square feet, Elliott Bay is massive by indie standards. 

Photo credit: Zoe Perzo (2023)

Founded in 1973, the store has changed ownership twice over its fifty years of operation. Most recently, it was purchased by Tracy Taylor, Murf Hall, and Joey Burgess in 2022. 

I met with Tracy Taylor to hear more about the transition to ownership, and the owners’ goals for the future.

Taylor had been a bookseller at Elliott Bay for 34 years before making the jump to ownership. But I was curious what prompted Hall and Burgess to make that leap with her.

“Joey and Murf are booklovers,” Taylor explained. “They have been longtime customers of Elliott Bay and have done a lot of advocacy in the neighborhood. Their investment in this community is intentional.”

Capitol Hill is a historically LGBTQIA+ neighborhood, Taylor explained, and Hall and Burgess own several other queer spaces in the community. And even as Taylor and I talked, Burgess and Hall were in the midst of organizing their annual Queer/Pride Festival — another way that the pair were pouring themselves into this neighborhood.

It has been a couple years since the trio took over Elliott Bay, and they’re settling well into their new roles. And their various backgrounds mesh perfectly. 

“Having been at the store for 34 years, I am here to support the more day-to-day operations and I believe my institutional knowledge combines with Joey and Murf’s fresh perspective and skills to create a very dynamic partnership,” Taylor told me. 

When they purchased Elliott Bay, the store was just shy of its 50th anniversary. While that was cause for celebration, the store's age also meant upgrades were in order.

“We spent that [first] year assessing, evaluating, and finding ways to support and grow our infrastructure. The second year we invested in some long overdue non-glamorous upgrades: the sound and security systems, the HVAC system, a new server…” 

But after taking care of the necessities, they were able to make more exciting upgrades.

“We installed a really spectacular structure in our Children’s area — a schooner, which mirrors our logo! And we began increasing our non-book inventory and refreshed our branded store merch,” Taylor said.

Together the trio will keep pushing the store forward.

“We want to continue to provide a great space for our community,” Taylor told me. “And we're currently working with our Bookworkers Union on a new CBA and within that framework we hope to find ways within the industry to help make bookselling a more sustainable profession for those who want to have a career as booksellers.”

Since Elliott Bay is so much larger than many of its peers, I asked Taylor about the challenges of running a store this size.

“I think we have the same challenges as everyone else, just on a larger scale,” she said, thinking for a moment. “The booksellers who come to Elliott Bay from smaller bookstores are often surprised to find that the scope of duties throughout the day is a little more specialized. We cross train everyone and, in theory, we all do everything. But in a smaller store you are often the opener, closer, receiver, and frontline bookseller all in the same day and that is not necessarily the case in a large store with long hours.”

But regardless of the size of the store, Taylor says she believes booksellers are the best people in the world

“My lifetime working in this industry has been a pleasure every single day. There’s nothing more enjoyable than knowing you put the right book in a customer’s hand.”

If you’re in the Seattle area, make sure to stop by Elliott Bay Book Company! You can also find them online at their website, on Instagram, and on Facebook.