Gallery Bookshop and Bookwinkle's Children's Books
Gallery Bookshop was established in 1962 in Mendocino's historic Jarvis-Nichols Building. At that time, the shop featured paintings and prints by local artists along with its fine selection of books. Original owner Marvel Glynn sold the store to Betty Goodman, a local actress and patron of the arts, who in 1980 sold it to Tony Miksak. In 1988, Tony opened Bookwinkle's Children's Books, the first children's bookstore in Mendocino County, at the corner of Albion and Kasten streets in Mendocino. When Gallery Bookshop expanded into its current space in 1993, Bookwinkle's moved too, to share the new location and the store name. In 2006, the store was purchased by current owner Christie Olson Day. Today, Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle's Children's Books serves local residents and visitors from around the world with an extensive inventory of current and relevant titles, plus a large selection of eclectic volumes not likely to be found online or at any urban mega-store. Honoring our local heritage on California’s north coast, Gallery Bookshop and Bookwinkle’s Children’s Books prominently features sections on local history, logging, ocean life, wine country, mushrooms, marijuana culture, the arts, and books and gift items by local authors and artists.
Gallery Bookshop's extraordinary customer service is provided by a dedicated, book-loving staff of readers. Some of the current staff have worked at the bookshop for decades, some for a much shorter time, but all have a passion for books and for the people who read them.
For more than 25 years visitors to Gallery Bookshop were greeted by the store’s feline mascot, first Leander, and then Collette, a friendly, longhaired charmer born in the courtyard behind the shop. Draped gracefully across a shelf of best-selling novels or promenading elegantly through the store each morning, Collette purred her greeting to our many visitors for 20 years. Collette passed away in 2004, but lives on in our memories.
Gallery Bookshop features one of the most spectacular views of any bookstore, anywhere (Check out the webcam view on our Homepage). From the cushioned widow seats at the front of our store, customers can observe the annual gray whale migrations, listen to the foghorns warning stray fishing boats off the rocky, fog-shrouded headlands, or head out for a hike on the many trails of the Mendocino Headlands State Park. Take a good book to read, and picnic on the edge of the continent, located just a short walk away.
Although Mendocino is well off the beaten path, Gallery Bookshop and Bookwinkle's Children's Books attracts devoted customers from around the world. Granted, part of the attraction is the picturesque setting. However, the store's outstanding selection of books and its knowledgeable and caring staff are what make Gallery Bookshop a five-star attraction on your list of places to visit. We hope to see you soon.