For decades, downtown Puyallup has been without a bookstore. That’s about to change
A Puyallup Main Street Association social-media survey a few years ago showed an ice cream shop, a bakery and a bookstore were the top businesses people wanted downtown.
Lick Homemade Ice Cream opened last year, followed by The Cat & Rabbitt Cake Shop. Now, downtown Puyallup is getting an independent bookstore.
Emily Foster, 39, announced recently that she’s opening a bookstore called page & pine at 207 W. Stewart Ave. this spring, next to Firehouse Pet Shop. She’s aiming to open in late May or early June.
Foster wants to host book clubs, author events and other gatherings in the shop.
Asked about the different genres she’ll offer, Foster said the store will start with a good stock inventory and leave room for requests. Her focus in those initial months will be getting to know the customers, she said.
“What are they reading? What excites them? What authors do they love?” she said. “I need to know from my community what they want on the shelves.”
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Foster has lived in Puyallup for about 15 years, working in residential property management. The bookstore isn’t her first business. She recently sold Beviamo Tap Truck, a mobile bar-tending setup she started for special events, to focus on the bookshop.
It was spring 2023 when she knew she wanted to open a store, and summer 2024 when she decided to do it. She settled on a bookstore, she said, because she thinks it’s something that can make the community a little better.
“It’s actually kind of funny,” she said “I don’t enjoy reading at all. ... I love the community, and I love downtown Puyallup. I just see the need for it.”
Foster said part of her motivation is also to show her son that anything is possible, and that big risks can mean big rewards.
‘We have worked very hard to turn around downtown Puyallup.’
Foster has been taking a class from the Professional Booksellers School to study the business.
“It’s been awesome for me just because it walks you through everything that you need to know,” she said.
Facebook groups with mentors in the industry have been a resource. They’ve connected her with independent bookstore owners across the country. She said they’ve been “incredibly helpful, and they do it out of the kindness of their heart.”
The business community in downtown Puyallup also has been supportive. One business owner was so excited, Foster said, that she offered to help paint the new shop.
“You don’t find that in other towns,” Foster said. “Community over competition, I guess, is where I go with that.”
Kerry Yanasak, executive director of the Puyallup Main Street Association, said getting the bookstore downtown is a big deal. It’s been 35 or 40 years since the area has had one, he said.
“When that bookstore opens up, they will do well from day one,” he said.
He said a second bookstore is considering spots downtown.
There’s been a push in recent years to revitalize downtown, he said. He said PMSA spends about $7,000 a year on graffiti removal, for example, and offers grants to help businesses improve building facades. They’ve recruited retail businesses, in particular, downtown, he said.
“We have worked very hard to turn the downtown around,” he said. “It’s not the same town it was eight or nine years ago.”
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
