{"id":36513,"date":"2021-08-12T19:22:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T23:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=36513"},"modified":"2021-08-12T19:22:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T23:22:03","slug":"lyrical-ballad-bookstore-in-saratoga-springs-turns-50-with-new-owners-in-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2021\/08\/lyrical-ballad-bookstore-in-saratoga-springs-turns-50-with-new-owners-in-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Lyrical Ballad Bookstore In Saratoga Springs Turns 50 With New Owners In Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Jason Zerrillo, left, and Charlie Israel are the owners of Lyrical Ballad Bookstore in Saratoga Springs. The business is in its 50th year of operation.
\u00a92021 SaratogaPhotographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

Lyrical Ballad Bookstore, in the heart of Saratoga\u2019s historic downtown, turns 50 this year with new ownership and the promise of keeping this used and rare book destination much the same as it was when John and Janice DeMarco founded it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The transaction for the 7 Phila St. business was completed in June between Janice DeMarco and new co-owners Charlie Israel and Jason Zerrillo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJan DeMarco was eager to keep the spirit of the shop alive,\u201d said Israel. \u201cShe had worked in the store at 7 Phila Street for decades with her husband.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Zerrillo had worked at Lyrical Ballad for 15 years when the opportunity came to join Israel as an equal partner in the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Jay step in would help maintain the shop\u2019s spirit,\u201d said Israel. \u201cHe knows the place inside-out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither partner has owned a book store before. Israel is involved in historical preservation and his family has spent 40 years helping preserve the Franklin Square area, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI worked in bookstores and also collected books since my late teens,\u201d Zerrillo said. \u201cWhen I moved to Saratoga to work for Borders, I of course discovered Lyrical Ballad and became friends with the DeMarcos. I used to spend my allowance there when I was a kid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The two became friends when they met eight years ago and discovered their mutual love of books and the legacy the DeMarcos built together.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cJohn was a book dealer\u2019s book dealer,\u201d Israel said. \u201cHe would find books and know where around the country there would be interest. He once found a chest in a barn in the Berkshires filled with letters between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite memory, one that is emblematic of what the store is about, is being able to provide Solomon Northup\u2019s descendants a first edition of \u2018Twelve Years a Slave\u2019 back when the film first came out,\u201d said Zerrillo. \u201cFinding a book someone is looking for, or didn\u2019t know they were looking for, is the best part of my job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The market for books has changed, Israel said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe market for the real rare stuff is not the same as 20 years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cBut people still read and love books.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel doesn\u2019t know exactly how many volumes are available, but suspects the number exceeds 100,000 on the shelves, \u201cout back and in storage,\u201d he said. \u201cThese run the gamut of collectible, old and current titles. We have a little of everything and a lot of some things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that makes the store intriguing and historically significant is that there used to be a bank in the building and there\u2019s a large vault with big steel bars and locks,\u201d said Israel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I never get tired of is the surprised delight newcomers to the store have when they see that the store is much more than just the front two rooms,\u201d said Zerrillo. \u201cThe layout and sheer size of the store is such a huge part of its appeal and ambience, and certainly something to be preserved as much as possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Customers visiting the shop find volumes of old prints, globes, bookends and knick-knacks the DeMarcos had collected over the years. These may be available for sale if there is interest, Israel said, but Lyrical Ballad is \u201cnot a gift shop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome bookstores diversify to compete with online sellers, but our normal business is selling books,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

One addition is a paperback section and modern authors \u201cto get books into the hands of people,\u201d said Israel.\u00a0\u201cWe are also starting to carry a small selection of carefully curated vinyl records while we figure out how selling vinyl works.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel said the partners \u201chit the ground running\u201d in June and soon it will be \u201ca good time to invite a book club to use our space or to ask authors to come speak … Our main goal is to keep the shop alive and we don\u2019t plan on changing much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn three or five years from now, I\u2019m hopeful not much about the store will have changed,\u201d said Zerrillo. \u201cExcept maybe a few less piles of books on the floor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell Lyrical Ballad Bookstore, in the heart of Saratoga\u2019s historic downtown, turns 50 this year with new ownership and the promise of keeping this used and rare book destination much the same as it was when John and Janice DeMarco founded it. The transaction for the 7 Phila St. business was completed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":36514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nLyrical Ballad Bookstore In Saratoga Springs Turns 50 With New Owners In Charge - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2021\/08\/lyrical-ballad-bookstore-in-saratoga-springs-turns-50-with-new-owners-in-charge\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lyrical Ballad Bookstore In Saratoga Springs Turns 50 With New Owners In Charge - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell Lyrical Ballad Bookstore, in the heart of Saratoga\u2019s historic downtown, turns 50 this year with new ownership and the promise of keeping this used and rare book destination much the same as it was when John and Janice DeMarco founded it. 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