Yucca Valley’s beloved Cactus Wren Book Exchange will be closing the last chapter of its two-decade long story on February 7th, where all books will be half-off in the meantime for its massive sale of stock. I spoke with the owners, Joe DesCoteaux and his wife Leanne Abbott, about their 22-year legacy, their feelings about their building being sold, and what they plan to do after their doors close for good.
Twenty-two years ago in September of 2001, husband and wife Joe DesCoteaux and Leanne Abbott moved from San Clemente to Yucca Valley; not only to escape the hustle and bustle of a rapidly developing Orange County, but to follow DesCoteaux’s dream of owning his own bookstore.
Easing into the location of the old Bakos Book Exchange, whose owner’s health troubles left her with the decision to close the 18-year-old business, DesCoteaux and Abbott took over the storefront and remodeled it to their own Cactus Wren, keeping the “book exchange” title as a nod to the neighborhood’s previous literary hub and their continuum of that spirit.
“A town isn’t a town without a bookstore” Abbott tells me, quoting famous genre author Neil Gaiman. And in the wake of Sagebrush Books closing last year after the building was sold, Cactus Wren Book Exchange faces the same fate when they close in February, making room for another dreamer to open a high-end furniture store in their place, who left them a 60-day or quit eviction notice, and the town of Yucca Valley with no bookstore.
“We looked around town to find another place to move but since Angelview (who owned their building until now) have been so forgiving on the rent, the other rents we found in town were just too expensive.”
Abbott pauses thoughtfully. “If you want to be rich, don’t open a used bookstore. It’s a paid hobby,” she says with a knowing smile, showing no signs of regret.
I argue something this couple already knows: what a bookstore provides a town is akin to a community service, an archive of cultural knowledge and imagination; the same as what a library offers, and that’s something you can’t put a price tag on.
“And our customers are sad and we’re sad; however, we try to look on the positive side. One door closes, the other one opens.”
DesCoteaux agrees. “Our customers are devastated—most of them are more upset than I am! But I look at it as probably time to do something else.”
Considering the challenges of owning a used, or as Cactus Wren puts it; “twice loved” bookstore in the age of Amazon, I asked DesCoteaux if he feels any sort of weight lifted off his shoulders with the sudden closing?
“I’m 73-years old and I would have done this another ten years,” he said. “But I’m also a musician, and never went out much because I had to open the store early the next morning, so I missed playing the open mics. So I’ll be doing more music, writing more songs.”
All hope isn’t lost for the Morongo Basin book lover, with Space Cowboy Books in Joshua Tree and Raven Books in 29 Palms. But for Yucca Valley residents, the convenience of a local bookstore will now require a bit of travel. Yet once you’ve reached these destinations, our big sky is the limit for your imagination.
