Gilbert Hernandez had 500 books and a $5,000 loan when taking his business from markets and pop-ups to a storefront in downtown Brownsville.
It was the first days of January 2022. His new bookstore Buho now had a physical location in a historic downtown building that got its start in 1921 as a pharmacy on Washington Street. The 29-year-old Hernandez was out to prove a point. His research revealed that Brownsville with a population nearing 200,000 residents was the largest primary city in a U.S. metro market without its own general bookstore.
Waldenbooks closed its doors at Sunrise Mall well over 10 years ago. Since then, Hernandez says no one had done much about “the bookstore situation” in Brownsville despite much grumbling around town. The word he and others heard was that the chain bookstores had no interest in the city.
“They think we’re too poor and illiterate,” said Hernandez, a Brownsville native and Saint Joseph Academy graduate. “We’re going to prove them wrong.”
Hernandez used a bit stronger language in expressing his determination to put his hometown on the map with its own bookstore. The fact that he has done so in a mysteriously beautiful and century-old building in downtown Brownsville adds to the allure of a bookstore whose name translates to “owl” in English.
Twists And Turns
A map near Buho’s entrance has hundreds of pins lodged within the outlines of nearly every U.S. state.
“Forty-three states and 30 countries,” Hernandez says of where visitors have come from to visit his indie bookstore.
His start with a collection of 500 books has grown to having an inventory of over 15,000. Going from storing books in a 10-by-10 storage unit to housing a deep collection of new, antique and secondhand books at the Calderoni building has taken an intensive effort.
The bookstore reflects the energy of its owner. There are a flurry of events and sales every month at Buho. There are poetry nights and author readings to go with clearance sales and “blind dates with a book.” The latter are books wrapped like gifts with brief descriptions of its contents. A string is then tied around the whole thing to tempt a curious mind. It’s all part of creating a fun vibe and making Buho worth the drive and walk to get to.
“It’s up to me to keep the momentum going,” Hernandez said of Buho’s promising start.
Getting to be a bookstore owner had its share of twists and turns for the youthful entrepreneur. He left Brownsville after high school to attend college in Massachusetts. His first job thereafter was working in New Hampshire in managing science and technology conferences in the New England area. A visit home turned into a longer stay and he eventually worked in the local family business in the fuel industry.
Hernandez utilized the time back home to become active in civic organizations. He also began to make contacts in the local business and legal world. When starting out in the book business, Hernandez says he “gathered connections” with bankers and attorneys in forming business plans.
“Each step helped to build up Buho,” he said.
Hernandez has found his niche and hopes his bookstore is doing the same. It’s one part doing what you want and another building something that can last.
“You have to do it in a way that resonates with you and your natural talents,” he said. “Then there’s the question, ‘Are you capable enough to create a system that gives you the money and the time you desire?'”
Pressing Need
Hernandez is among the Millennial-aged business owners who are investing in Brownsville’s historic downtown.
Many of the new generation entrepreneurs are Brownsville natives of the city. Their hometown pride is reflected in the downtown investments that have established trendy coffee shops, delis, restaurants – and in Hernandez’s case – a bookstore.
“It feels great right now,” he said of downtown’s renaissance in recent years.
Hernandez, however, worries that downtown Brownsville’s revival “is only a novelty” unless the city moves more rapidly to address parking issues in the city’s core. The city, he says, does not have the sort of pedestrian culture that cities have in the Northeast where people are willing to walk several blocks to get to their destinations.
While lauding efforts to make downtown Brownsville viable again, he is blunt in his assessments of how durable it can be without parking improvements.
“It may fade away if something isn’t done about parking infrastructure,” he said.
Hernandez maintains an optimistic spirit amid the realism of being a small business owner facing daily challenges. He enjoys conversations with his customers and greets everyone with a smile. Hernandez embraces feedback – the good with the need to do better – and looks forward to what Buho can be.
“With our events and inventory of new and older books, we can continue to bring back old customers and attract some new ones,” he said.