Maple City resident Jenny Puvogel, a longtime employee at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, is now the new owner of the charming small business as of April 1.
Since taking the reins, Puvogel has had help with learning how to manage the bookstore from her good friend and former shop owner, Sue Boucher. In the process, Boucher is staying on as the book buyer and as a mentor to Puvogel while she adjusts to her role amid a busy season.
So far, Puvogel said it’s been smooth sailing though, especially with the help of other longtime staff that have been employed at the shop since Barbara and Frank Siepker first operated the business more than two decades ago.
“I love all the people that work here — all of those people are staying on staff with me including the previous owner, Sue… These women are great, they’re amazing, they’re all so smart and knowledgeable and kind and friendly, I couldn’t ask for better people to work with,” Puvogel said. “Being a loyal customer, I started to make friends with the people who were working there and it just all kind of evolved… She (Sue) was ready to take a little step back and I was ready to take a step forward, so it seemed like it was the perfect match for us.”
As an avid reader and book lover, acquiring a bookshop was also the perfect match for Puvogel. While she never thought she’d own a bookstore, Puvogel has loved reading books since she was a child. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in English from Western Michigan University, later moving on to teach fourth and first graders in South Haven for 20 years.
Puvogel and her family, who are from the town of Vicksburg near Kalamazoo, spent many summers since the 1990s visiting their rental cottage near D.H. Campground. She remembers always making a point to stop in at the Cottage Book Shop over the years during visits to the area, becoming a loyal customer early on.
“I was always like, ‘let’s go to the Cottage Bookshop on the way into town,’ or ‘let’s stop at the bookshop on the way out of town.’ All of that. So I was a loyal customer turned employee,” she said. “I remember being excited to go to the library and to pick up books that I could with my mom in our small town library in Vicksburg.”
Puvogel decided to retire early from her job in education after losing her sister to cancer and to have more time with her family. Finally in 2019, Puvogel and her husband, Gregg, made the decision to make the big move and permanently relocate to Leelanau County. Gregg, who works part-time at Northwoods Hardware, is also part owner of the bookstore with Puvogel.
“My sister has three kids and I’m super close with them and my mom and dad are still around thankfully, so everybody still comes up and spends at least a whole week in Glen Arbor,” she said. “Now there’s a new generation of littles in our family, so we’re excited to share it with them.”
At the store, people come in looking for a variety of books, whether it’s anything from rock hunting to Michigan history, to the latest summer beach reads, kids books, and social issues, the options available in the 100-year-old cottage are seemingly endless for all sorts of readers.
“You’d be amazed when you finally get in there to see how many books we can fit in that small space,” she said. “People will just walk in the door and kind of just be amazed by the building itself because it’s very unique, but I think what brings people back is the people that work here who really truly love to talk to everyone about what they’re reading and how they can help you find the right book for you.”
Two fun, summer reads Puvogel recommends are titled “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman, and “I Hope This Finds You Well” by Natalie Sue. Both novels are stories that Puvogel said will speak to a lot of people, but will also bring some bits of joy and laughter through their words.
This summer, the bookshop will be partnering with the Glen Arbor Arts Center and their series “Coffee With The Authors,” as well as hosting storytime in the Pine Patch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In the future, Puvogel hopes to form a book club in the community where people can come and talk about curated reads together at the shop.
“I’ve made some really good friends with the people that work here, I feel really lucky about that, but also in the summertime, we have repeat customers who come back to see us every year, and it’s so fun for us to see them come into the store and say ‘oh this is my favorite bookstore, we come here every year’ and that feels really good,” she said. “And then people come in and they’re like ‘can you make a recommendation and ask what they like?’ And then you hook them up with the best book for them — that’s very satisfying.”
