Mitchell’s Book Corner functions as a cornerstone business in the downtown year-round, beloved by generations of seasonal and full-time residents as well as thousands of summer visitors. In the spring of 2012, Wendy Hudson, the owner of Nantucket Bookworks on Broad Street and one of the organizers of Nantucket’s Book Festival, created Nantucket Book Partners to run both Mitchell’s Book Corner and Nantucket Bookworks as full-service, year-round bookstores. 

Hudson is an enthusiastic advocate for the future of independent bookselling on the island and believes that Mitchell’s Book Corner and Nantucket Bookworks each retain their own unique personalities. By running the two bookstores cooperatively, she is able to strengthen both entities and offer even more to Nantucket readers.

“At Remain, we like to incubate new endeavors that inspire and support the next generation in a changing marketplace, and we also want to support downtown’s key institutions to help ensure they are in place for the long term,” said Remain co-founder and president, Wendy Schmidt, at the time of the reopening in 2012. “Since we purchased Mitchell’s in 2008, the bookselling business has seen unprecedented market shifts in the explosive popularity of e-readers and the success of online shopping. Independent booksellers in every market are working overtime to develop sustainable business models for their stores. Here on Nantucket, we are exceptionally fortunate to have two independent bookstores.”

Remain’s goal in the renovation was to preserve the character of Mitchell’s while greatly improving the building’s structure, energy efficiency and accessibility. Remain created a flexible open floor plan on the second floor so that bookshelves can move as needed for space for book selling and to host community events, classes, meetings, author dinners and more. The building was awarded a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2009.