Published in the January 2019 issue of the BSM Beacon.

Burnt Store Road is losing one of its most iconic businesses, and I for one am sad. Sandman Book Company in the Turtle Crossing Plaza will move to a new location at 5240 Duncan Road, Punta Gorda (Hwy 17 east of I-75) in February. No longer will we be able to drop in for a quick browse through the stacks on our way to or from home. Having immediate access to the wisdom, creativity and insights contained in the store’s 100,000 book inventory has somehow made the central section of Burnt Store Road seem just a little less remote.

Heidi Lange and Scott Hill founded Sandman back in 2006, operating online and from the garage of their home for the first three years. In 2009 they opened a 1,000 s.f. store front in Turtle Crossing, upping that space to 2,000 s.f. in 2011 and 5,000 s.f. in 2013. With the 2013 expansion came the famous Book Arch sculpture constructed by Scott out of 4,000 books which would have otherwise been recycled. Throughout this time Heidi and Scott have been ably supported by the store mascot and mouser Kitty-Wan Kenobi, Shadow their Japanese Akita rescue dog and their son Tyrion (who now attends Charlotte High).

The new location is close to two of Punta Gorda’s popular restaurants, Peace River Seafood and the Royal Thai Oriental. Sadly, the book arch will not be making the move, but another book sculpture is currently being constructed by Scott to be installed in the new space. The new store will be similar in size, but with lower ceilings.

Heidi and Scott have pioneered a number of innovative practices to help grow the business. Many of the wonderful staff who greet visitors are volunteers, some of whom travel many miles for the privilege of working in this unique environment. The cost of books held in their fully computerized inventory is also well managed. Rather than pay cash for the used books they obtain for resale, Sandman grants individuals a “Book Exchange Credit”. These credits, which expire after one year, can then be used to purchase in-stock used books. Each month the store hosts the very popular Fairy Tale Story Time. During these events cosplayers (costume players) dress up as princesses and rogues to entertain young readers. A little known fact is that most of the costumes worn by the actors have been hand sewn by Heidi herself. Local authors are also well supported, as I can attest, as are local teachers.

Why then is such a successful business leaving our community? It turns out that the villain of the plot is none other than Burnt Store Road itself. Charlotte County’s Notre Dame Blvd. to Zemel Road phase of the Burnt Store Road construction project will be commencing soon (see separate article for more details on this). The owners found that their sales volume dropped catastrophically during the previous two northern construction phases, and are concerned that their business would not survive a third interruption. Much as we who live within minutes of the book store like to think of it as exclusively our own, detailed customer research based on reported Zip codes has persuaded Heidi and Scott that the majority of their customers actually drive down Burnt Store Road to reach them. One family even visits monthly from Tampa. With such a wide geographic reach for their customer base, they are expecting that the new location will allow them to retain many of their existing customers and attract many new bibliophiles who will have better exposure and access to them from I-75 and State Road 17. While we lament this longer drive, it is better than the alternative of having the store close all together. We bid them a fond but sad farewell, though I certainly expect to continue to visit them regularly.