Published March 30, 2025
BY THEODORA MILLER
Founded by Diane and Gordon Simonds in 2009, River House Books in The Crossroads focuses on serving Carmel’s distinctive neighborhood to stay a local focal point.
Manager Cat Moya, who joined the store seven months ago, says that River House Books, as an independent book store, has something unique.
River House Books is nestled into The Crossroads Carmel as a favorite locals’ spot. courtesy of CAT MOYA
“It’s really part of the community and has a special place in people’s hearts,” says Moya.
Having grown up near the Salinas area, Moya graduated from Santa Clara University and pursued a career in book design before joining the staff at River House Books. Moya says she fell in love with reading at a young age, in part due to scholastic book fairs, shouting out “The Hunger Games” and “The Unraveling of June Farrow” as two of her favorites.
To increase engagement, the local bookshop hosts author events and a brand new book club that will start this April.
“It’s about giving them a great experience and making sure it’s a good spot for people to come visit and talk about books,” says Moya.
Additionally, the manager explains that they try to reach younger audiences through an active social media presence and revamping their website, and that they aim for the bookstore to be a place teens actively visit.
River House Books faced closure in 2017 and 2018, when the Simonds wanted to retire and were looking to sell, so the community rallied around them, especially the store’s nextdoor neighbors, the Lunds, owners of Lula’s Chocolates. The Lunds bought the store in April 2018, a clear example of River House Books’ importance within the Carmel community.
River House Books has provided readers with a beautiful browsing experience since 2009. courtesy of CAT MOYA
CHS freshman Jade Voss, an avid reader, visits River House Books often.
“What I like about [River house Books] is it has books for all ages,” says Voss.
Ayden Blackwell, a River House Books employee of over two years and member of CHS’ Class of 2023, explains that part of what individualizes the store is the way they tailor their selection for the community and personalized book choices.
“All of the employees order for different parts of the store,” says Blackwell. “Because we all have specialties we’re able to really figure out what is best for our clientele within a genre. We don’t just order the most popular romances, but the ones we think will sell the most here.”
The local bookshop also works to support authors in the area, hosting myriad events from book signing to Q&A’s. Moya says they try to partner especially with authors making their debut into publishing to help support the community.
Though Moya describes bookstores as “a dying space,” River House Books proves that with conscious community engagement, human touch and old-fashioned smalltown charm, bookstores can still beat the odds to become both successful and beloved.
