SYRACUSE — When Stephen Case returned from a trip to Greece in August 2021, he had the urge to open a bookstore in downtown Syracuse. In his travels around Greece, he says he saw the Acropolis and visited some “cool” bookstores and coffee shops, which added to his desire to see an independent bookstore open […]
SYRACUSE — When Stephen Case returned from a trip to Greece in August 2021, he had the urge to open a bookstore in downtown Syracuse.
In his travels around Greece, he says he saw the Acropolis and visited some “cool” bookstores and coffee shops, which added to his desire to see an independent bookstore open in the downtown area. Case is a broker and owner of Acropolis Realty Group / Acropolis Development in downtown Syracuse.
“It was my concept,” says Case, referring to the downtown’s first bookstore since the early 1990s. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”
Parthenon Books has been operating at 333 S. Salina St. since June 25. It’s located in the same space where Rainbow Kids previously operated.
The bookstore is part of Acropolis Center, which is owned by both Case and Ryan Benz.
Both men are also co-owners of Parthenon Books. Besides the bookstore, Benz also operates the restaurant Oh My Darling, just a short distance from Parthenon Books on South Salina Street.
“I thought [Benz] would be instrumental in helping with the café. So, we’ve got a little café in the bookstore,” says Case, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 24.
Case says he and Benz spent about $500,000 to open the bookstore, including buildout, furniture, fixtures, and inventory.
Selena Giampa manages Parthenon Books, which held a ribbon cutting June 30. The approximately 4,000-square-foot store has four full-time employees and about five part-time employees.
“This is [Giampa’s] dream … to run an independent bookstore,” says Case.
Store manager’s new beginning
Case had all the components to launch the downtown bookstore but still needed someone to manage the operation.
Giampa had been working for the Research Foundation for SUNY at SUNY ESF when she says her position was eliminated in July 2021 due to pandemic. She has a friend who works as a massage therapist who soon after asked Giampa if she could do anything, what would it be if money wasn’t an issue.
“I always wanted to run a bookstore,” says Giampa, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 23. She had moved back to Central New York from Phoenix, Arizona about 15 years ago and “couldn’t believe” that no one had opened a bookstore in the downtown area.
Not long after the interaction with her friend, Giampa says her friend and an acquaintance were looking at a commercial space in downtown Syracuse with Stephen Case (that space is now home to Parthenon Books).
As Giampa recalled it, before the meeting ended, Case asked his clients if they knew of anybody with knowledge of operating a bookstore.
“Steve and I met and I told him how weird and serendipitous it was,” says Giampa.
Their meeting in early July 2021 convinced Case that a downtown bookstore would soon happen.
Giampa had worked at Borders stores in Syracuse and Arizona for about 12 years in roles that included inventory manager and café manager, per her LinkedIn profile. She also had worked as a clerk for the central branch of the Onondaga County Public Libraries for four years.
“Books have always been sort of a thing that I’ve wanted to surround myself with,” she notes.
Trade-Mark Construction of Syracuse handled the construction work to prepare the space for business. Trade-Mark started its work in March of this year, according to Giampa.
“There was a lot of build out,” she recalls.
A distributor offered the bookstore a list about 10,000 titles for selections to determine the store’s first order, Giampa says. Parthenon Books is also setting up accounts with independent publishers. The store will also accept used books but that’s done by appointment because “we’re really really selective about what we want,” Giampa tells CNYBJ.
Parthenon Books also hosts events involving book clubs, local authors, trivia nights, and is open to helping local nonprofits with fundraising events. The store has a café that offers products from SkyTop Coffee of Manlius, SugarTop Bake Shoppe in Salina, and the Westcott Cookie Company of Syracuse.
“Being as locally focused as possible is a huge part of our business model,” Giampa notes.
The name Parthenon Books is a nod to the history of ancient Greece and the bookstore’s operation space in Acropolis Center. The Parthenon was a temple on the Athenian Acropolis that was dedicated to the goddess Athena.
“We have a mural in our store that is a nod to the goddess Athena as well,” says Giampa.