Established in the late 1950s by Russ and Doris Riemann out of their wholesale periodical and book distribution business (the Alaska News Agency), The Book Cache grew to become an iconic literary institution and local gathering place across Southcentral Alaska. Famously surviving the massive magnitude-9.2 Good Friday Earthquake in March 1964—reopening almost immediately to act as a vital community bulletin and information hub for a cut-off town—the business expanded into a beloved regional chain with nearly 20 branches spanning Anchorage, Eagle River, the Mat-Su Valley, and the Kenai Peninsula. Known for fostering generations of Alaskan readers, hosting author events (such as James Huntington), and maintaining an open, welcoming community atmosphere, the chain ultimately concluded operations following corporate acquisition and retail shifts in the late 1980s and 1990s.