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Cather & Company Booksellers and Coffeehouse is a unique gathering spot in Red Cloud

The earthy voice of Frank Sinatra, stylishly mismatched chairs arranged around well-used wooden tables, original art hanging on exposed brick walls, the luxurious smell of crushed coffee beans, and hundreds of books shelved on handmade wooden bookcases — along with two customer-oriented cats — identify Cather & Company as a genuine, L.A.-style coffee house and bookstore.

Kipp Pettersen, formerly of Los Angeles, created Cather & Company Booksellers and Coffeehouse on Main Street in Red Cloud, the small town on the prairie that Willa Cather celebrated in her writing.

“I was a Cather fan for ages,” Pettersen said. ”Fifteen years ago I was driving across country on Interstate 80, and I noticed on the map that I was near Red Cloud, Nebraska and Willa Cather country. I immediately turned off the interstate and drove 60 miles south to Red Cloud and fell in love with the community.”

Before she could realize her goal of moving to Red Cloud, though, life events intervened. They carried Pettersen back to Los Angeles and onward to North Carolina, to the Galapagos Islands, and then to Wales to accomplish another dream of hers, to learn Italian. The pathway to Cather country became more practical when she was invited to serve on the Willa Cather Foundation Board of Directors by a board member who said, “We need someone on the Board who speaks Italian.”

A world traveler comes to Red Cloud

Kipp Pettersen’s life story is as imaginative as a Hans Christian Anderson tale because she tells of her world travels and exotic adventures and in the next breath and in the same enthusiastic tone describes a typical day as a bookseller in a small community and the satisfactions of raising three children in rural Nebraska.

The Cather & Company business started in a small house on the north edge of Red Cloud, but Pettersen had her eye on a storefront on Main Street. One day she upbraided the owner, “You have done nothing to improve the building. It is time to give it up.” To her surprise, he agreed to sell it, and the Cather & Company Booksellers and Coffeehouse moved to Main Street.

Pettersen envisioned a store filled with books that she personally loves to share with her customers. When she acquired the building, she hired a local carpenter to build shelves and book cases from warm, brown poplar wood, and Webster County residents helped her fill the shelves. People donated books and works of art. Pettersen said.    “Almost everything in the store including wonderful books and the art objects on the shelves are gifts from customers. This morning, someone left a beautiful coffee table book on travel at the front door.”

A community center

Cather & Company developed into a community gathering place, a coffee house, and a new and used  bookstore. Pettersen said, “Travelers, tourists, business leaders, families, young people meet at the Booksellers, and I welcome them.”

Kipp Pettersen offers useful advice for anyone aspiring to start a business in rural America. “Meet your customers, greet them and learn from them because you will see each other throughout the week and get to know each other well,” she said. “I know so many people in town who talk with me about their family, their politics, books they read, ideas and their experiences.” To Kipp a bookstore in a small town is all about stories. “It’s all about narrative, all stories, books and lives.”

Pettersen adds another gem of advice for someone starting a business in rural America: make all segments of the population feel welcome.

“My political persuasion is liberal, yet in a small town, many conservatives come into my business. We listen to each other and freely state our views and opinions, and even though we disagree, we do still love each other.” Wednesday mornings, neighbors and friends meet at Cather & Company for a coffee-klatch. Pettersen says, “We drink coffee and chit chat about the happenings in the community and the world.” She adds, “Everyone is welcome.”

Pettersen invites musicians to play so residents can hear live music. “We recently offered the stage to a folk artist who was traveling from Washington State to New York. We sponsored a sing along and folk music concert for free will donations,” she said. She also invites writers and poets to come and read to a live audience.

Cather & Company also connects to an art gallery and the two occasionally collaborate. Pettersen says, “We work together to bring the opportunities we enjoyed in the city to our customers and audiences in Red Cloud.” Local artists and craftsmen as well as artists from across the country are invited to show at the gallery, Pettersen said.

Making it pay

Among the challenges of owning a used bookstore and coffee house in a small rural town is making the business pay for itself. The population base is small, so Pettersen aims her inventory at tourists and travelers.

“Tourists and especially the people who participates in the Willa Cather Foundation projects and programs usually visit the Bookseller and help support our business,” Pettersen says. “I keep up the Cather selections and continue to learn more about her. I recommend Cather to young readers because her writing is relevant to life today.”

Kipp Pettersen’s future plans involve more hand-picked books for the store. She says, “I want to bring in more books that I personally love.” She wants to add more fiction, both classic and contemporary. Pettersen uses the internet to sell some books online, and she often prices books using research over the internet.

She recommends cats in the bookstore and gallery. She says, “When you have cats in a book store, you not only draw people who like books, you also attract many people every day who come in to greet the cats.”

Who to Contact

Cather & Company Booksellers and Coffeehouse
345 North Webster
Red Cloud, NE
Kipp Pettersen
Phone: 402-746-2946
E-mail: KippItaly@hotmail.com

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