Recycle Bookstore

Our History: 

Recycle Bookstore is a San Jose institution, beginning in 1967 when Pat and Joan Hayes created the store.  It started on First Street, moved to San Fernando, and then settled on Santa Clara street for over 20 years. Eric and Cynthia Johnson bought the store from Joan Hayes in October of 1998 and had to move the store to its current location on the Alameda.  In early 2004, the Johnsons opened a second location in Campbell

Our personal story:

How it happened in 1998 is a bit improbable.  Joan Hayes carried half of the loan and the other half was guaranteed by the city, through the hard work of Juan Vigil of the Office of Economic Development in San Jose.  At the time, my wife and I (Cynthia and Eric) had no money, no real assets and no experience running a business.  We had to borrow money from our families to make it happen.  And the city gave the okay, the fools.  I wouldn't have given me the money.  But I'm very glad they did.

While working at the San Jose Mercury News full-time, I worked the store at night and during weekends.  I then moved to part time at the Mercury News eventually to leave altogether.  Through those years, by listening to what our customers wanted, we learned what books to keep in the store.  We cleaned out sections of old books that hadn't sold and learned what not to buy.  Slowly and steadily our stock got better, people complimented us on the store, and sales rose each year.  Sales have more than doubled from the time we bought the store.

We can't really relay the joy and satisfaction we have had being a part of this bookstore.  To watch the store grow, to hear people's compliments ("This is the best store ever!") and, mostly, to have helped create an oasis of culture in this busy Silicon Valley culture... all this we hope to keep going for years to come.