Decades-old KC bookstore with used & rare titles moves shops: ‘So much bigger’
A family-owned bookstore that has been operating in Kansas City for decades has moved farther north, specializing in vintage and hard-to-find books.
“We’re archivists with things for sale,” said owner David Steel.
Steel’s Used Books moved to 8115 N. Oak Trafficway Suite C back in May, in what Steel fondly calls a cave underneath Pettersson Pet. He had spent the last 20 years to the south at 7311 N. Oak Trafficway
“We’re surprisingly moved in,” he said. “I can’t believe I had all of this stuff in that building. This is so much bigger, over twice the size.”
Steel’s Used Books is known for having tens of thousands of used and hard-to-find titles, covering various topics like philosophy that Steel said will help you mislead yourself, as well as religion, history, poetry, architecture, fiction, sci-fi and more.
It’s a place that for decades has encouraged and stimulated conversation between people who otherwise wouldn’t. In a 2019 documentary about the store, Steel said people need to leave the white gloves in the car.
“Whether somebody comes here and they find Christ, or they come here, and they find, Aleister Crowley, I don’t care,” Steel said. “Find something to keep you engaged. If you’re looking, and you come here, I guarantee you’re gonna find stuff.”
It was started by David Steel’s parents, Bob and Ettie Steel, as a Christian bookstore and church supplies store in the Iowa Quad Cities in 1973. In 1990, the business moved to Independence Avenue in Kansas City.
Steel took over the business with his mother after his father died in 1998, though he had been heavily involved for decades before then. He managed the front of the house, while she paid bills, handled customer service and managed online sales.
A fire the following year wiped the inventory so they started anew in North Kansas City and expanded the selection to cover every genre. He remained there for 20 years, until that space was transformed into a shopping center. His mother passed away soon after, and then the store operated at the first spot on Oak Trafficway for 6 1/2 years.
In North Kansas City, Steel’s Used Books became a third space for many in the community to have honest and intelligent conversations without the fear of judgment. It also hosted live poetry readings and music.
In his last location, the aisles were just wide enough to walk through, with books stacked to the ceiling. Here, there’s a lot more space to display a variety of genres, like sheet music, cook books.
“I’m finding stuff that I priced seven years ago I didn’t know I had. Like, where was this?” Steel said about uncovering more books after the move.
Though there is still a wide selection of religious and spirituality books, Steel emphasizes there is so much more to the shop.
“The vintage sci-fi section is one of our bigger draws for people in their 20s,” said employee Adriana Stewart. “I mean it’s more about the third space than it is about the actual books at a certain point.”
Stewart joined the bookshop as it was moving to its newest location. In her short stint, she said she has seen a lot of younger people, couples and overall different clientele from other bookstores in her previous experience.
“People are more free to be people here. You get a lot of weirdos, a lot of like really less personable types who feel more comfortable being themselves and asking for the strange books that nowhere else has, and you know, the community aspect is really a big part,” she said.
Other popular genres on the shelves include romance, modern fiction and classics. In a 2019 documentary made called “Steel the Bookstore,” friends of Steel called the store then in North Kansas City “organized Bohemian chaos,” a counterculture space where people can feel free to express different opinions and create community. It was a space for free thinking
“You don’t know what you’re looking for here, this is just, ‘I didn’t know that existed, I need that,’” Steel said about his customers in the documentary. “That’s why it’s important. You can look online and stumble on it, but you’re not gonna find that anywhere.”
About 70% of the inventory inside Steel’s Used Bookstore is under $20. Paperbacks normally range from $5 to $10 and hardbacks go from $8 to $15. The truly vintage and rare books, like Roman Missals, cost more.
“Vintage pulps are really cool,” Stewart said. “That’s something that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else, like the bodice ripper murder mysteries.”
Stewart said she’s excited to see how the community embraces the new space, which she said is a work in progress.
“I guarantee you’re going to find something you didn’t know you wanted,” Steel said.
Steel’s Used Books is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
