The Bookstore Bookmark Archive

Green Apple Books is a masterclass in how to survive retail upheaval. What is their secret? A sprawling inventory, beloved staff, community initiatives and sheer personality with a refusal to be boring.

The original 506 Clement Street structure was a residential Victorian home, built around 1897. In the coming years, with the boom of the Richmond district, the home was turned into a commercial property.

In March 1967, the building briefly housed “The Norris House of Books”. While I am never in favor of a bookstore closing, I am glad that fate stuck when, only a few months later the bookstore was put up for sale and a young radio technician named Richard Savoy answered the ad.

Savoy opened Green Apple Books in late 1967. On his first business day, Savoy counted just $3.42 in receipts. Yet, as we know, he eventually transformed the space into the sprawling, creaky, beloved labyrinth of books that it is today.

In 1996, Green Apple purchased ‘Revolver Records’, a shop two fronts away, and turned this space into their annex.

Rather than selling to a larger corporation, Savoy in 1999 passed the torch to three of his long-time employees: Pete Mulvihill, Kevin Ryan, and Kevin Hunsanger.

In 2014, Green Apple threw a lifeline to a struggling Sunset District video store Le Video that housed a 100,000-title archive. They opened "Green Apple Books on the Park" on its lower floor.

In 2019, they expanded again by purchasing Browser Books on Fillmore Street, helping keep another legacy independent shop afloat.

Pete Mulvihill, who started as a temp at the store in 1993, is one of the current co-owners. He recently announced the sad news that he will be selling his half of the business at the end of 2026 to the other co-owner, Kevin Ryan.

ADDENDUM: In 2006, Green Apple Books took over the old Busvan for Bargains space a few blocks down, to open their clearance warehouse of over 100,000 books. Located at 248 Clement St.

In 2008, they closed the clearance warehouse, and were selling books 99 cents a lb. (I incorrectly labeled this newspaper clipping as 2021)

Something I have really enjoyed as I learn about Green Apple Books history, is that despite the rise of big box store giants, and the digital age threatening the physical bookstore, Green Apple has dealt with it in stride. Not with the usual tactics- nothing scummy, not raising prices to ridiculous highs. But by using humor, taking firm stands in the community and by adapting to technology as they are able.

Some of my favorite stories I found:

In a hilarious twist of fate in 2011, Green Apple partnered with Google to host a "technology petting zoo" so customers could test out non-Kindle e-readers. Ten minutes before the event began, a massive power outage hit Clement Street, plunging the store into darkness. While the Wi-Fi dropped and the devices became useless, staffers simply grabbed flashlights and led customers through the dark aisles to look at "real-life three-dimensional books.”

According to a 2005 San Francisco Chronicle clipping, the store's secondhand stock was a haven for finding historic paper ephemera. Filmmaker Dayna Goldfine recounted browsing the twisting aisles when a scrap of paper fluttered out of a copy of What Color Is Your Parachute?. It contained a handwritten poem dated September 28, 1978, and was signed by Beat Generation icon Allen Ginsberg.

When closing their clearance annex in 2008, Green Apple decided to liquidate the remaining inventory by selling books by the pound for 99 cents. To advertise this, the store sent out a cheeky email comparing their rate to the price-per-pound of Filet Mignon ($20) and Jujubes ($9.44).

When preparing to open their 2nd location, Green Apple Books on the Park, they invited customers and publishing friends to help unpack boxes of books over the weekend, in what turned into a three-day party.