1974 Bookstore
“Books are definitely my escape. They are my therapy.” For Annie Pagett, owner of 1974 Bookstore, books have never been simply something to sell. They have been companions, anchors, doorways, and reminders of who she has always been. Long before she opened her quaint shop beside Pioneer Park, long before the book cart that introduced her to readers across Salt Lake City, and long before she owned her first bookstore in Jacksonville, Florida, Annie was a child in New York City surrounded by stories.
She grew up in the Bronx, near the river, with summers spent in Brooklyn with her grandmother. Half Italian and half Puerto Rican, Annie was raised in a home where her parents worked hard to make sure books, music, art, and culture were part of everyday life. There were encyclopedias, Dr. Seuss books, Sesame Street, and Richard Scarry’s Busy World. Through school, she visited the Empire State Building, watched Mr. Rogers, went to Sesame Street’s studio, and explored museums. Those early experiences stayed with her. “All of those things that I do remember from my childhood, from growing up in New York City, helped enhance my love for reading, for literature, music, arts, and it is just something that I am always carrying with me to this day.”
When Annie was sixteen, her family left New York for San Antonio, Texas. The move was devastating. New York in the 1980s had been rough, and her mother wanted a different life for the family, but Annie never stopped feeling connected to the city that had shaped her. At eighteen, she left Texas and began building a life that would take her through college, marriage, motherhood, military moves, and a long career in project management. In college, Annie majored in English literature, with a minor in sociology, before shifting into information systems. It was a practical decision, one that led to more than twenty years of work as a project manager beginning with Bank of America in Jacksonville, Florida.
Still, the love of books never left her. In 2004, Annie moved to Salt Lake City with her then-husband and two daughters. They had wanted to leave the East Coast and try life near the mountains. What Annie found in Salt Lake surprised her. It reminded her of New York in ways she had not expected: walkable pockets, parks, food, culture, and a feeling of openness. “I love it here because I felt that there was a vibe similar to New York City.” Over time, Salt Lake became home. Her daughters grew up here, her friendships deepened, and the city began to speak to her in a way that felt lasting.
During the pandemic, however, Annie returned to Jacksonville to be with her mother. There, with her mother’s help, she opened Happy Medium Books Cafe in 2023, her first bookstore. Her mother, whom Annie calls her hero and biggest supporter, comes from a family of entrepreneurs and restaurateurs. Annie adored the shop, and it became successful quickly, but when her oldest daughter became pregnant with Annie’s third grandchild, Salt Lake called her back. Selling the Jacksonville store was heartbreaking, but the decision was clear. “My heart has always been in Salt Lake.”
Annie returned in December 2023, still holding tightly to the dream of owning a bookstore in the city she loved. In April 2024, during Independent Bookstore Day, Annie launched the 1974 mobile book cart. “I named it 1974 because it was the year I was born, and when I decided to open it, I had just turned fifty. It is a milestone birthday, and then I told myself, it is either do or die.” The name also carries the spirit of the 1970s - Sesame Street, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, nostalgia, feminism, social justice, civil rights, and the voices that shaped an era.
The cart was built with the idea of being carbon-footprint friendly and mobile, taking books to people rather than waiting for people to come to a store. Annie partnered with coffee shops, cafes, and small businesses across Salt Lake, including The Rose Establishment, Picnic Cafe, 43 Bakery, Normal Ice Cream, and others. Before long, the cart began appearing at festivals and events, including the Avenues Street Fair. Customers kept asking the same question: Was she going to open a store?
At first, Annie thought the cart might be enough. Then she realized it needed a home. In October 2025, she opened the physical 1974 Bookstore near Pioneer Park. The space is small, warm, and inviting, with exposed brick, wood beams, and the kind of cozy feeling that makes people linger. Annie chose the location deliberately. She could have looked elsewhere, but Pioneer Park mattered to her. Her family had gone there for years. “ I chose this part for a reason.” Annie knew the neighborhood had struggled at times, but she also believed deeply in its future. Pioneer Park reminded her of the small parks she loved growing up in New York, and she saw the bookstore as part of helping build community rather than walking away from it.
Annie understands the challenges of the neighborhood, but she also sees its possibilities. To Annie, bookstores have always been part of how neighborhoods heal and grow. “Bookstores revitalize a community. They create that third place for folks to come in and enjoy - while finding that special book to read."
1974 Bookstore is a specialized independent bookstore, with a carefully curated inventory shaped heavily by customer recommendations. Annie keeps a notebook at the front of the store where visitors can write down books they would like to see. About sixty percent of what is on the shelves comes from those suggestions, rotating from week to week alongside new releases and bestsellers. The shop also carries translated literature, both classic and contemporary, as well as United Kingdom editions with cover art that often differs from American versions.
The children’s section is small for now, though Annie hopes to expand it. In Jacksonville, the back of her store was devoted to children, complete with a train station, small chairs, and story time. When the 1974 cart appeared near the farmers market, children’s books sold quickly, and as more families begin walking through the neighborhood, Annie hopes to build that part of the store again.
The shop has been a family effort from the beginning. Annie’s daughters, Beverly and Callista, helped with the store and the cart, with Beverly quickly becoming hooked after joining her mother at the Avenues Street Fair. Beverly now helps in the shop, and Annie has also welcomed Sarah, a volunteer intern from France who previously worked at Shakespeare and Company, and at Librairie Galignani in Paris. Annie’s husband built the original cart and the shelves for the store.
Even with help, much of the work still rests on Annie’s shoulders. She is honest about the difficulty of running a small business in this moment. Social media likes are lovely, but they do not always translate into people walking through the door. All Annie hopes for is to have people pop in, browse, recommend books, donate books, and share ideas. “I really hope that people come out and give us a chance.”
What keeps Annie going is the same thing that brought her back to Salt Lake in the first place: community. She speaks with affection about the businesses that have collaborated with her, the customers who encouraged her to open, the delivery drivers who help track down book shipments, and the small-business owners who continue showing up for one another. On Saturdays during the farmers market season, the cart will return to The Rose Establishment. Annie loves the way books can change the energy of a space and create a reason for people to gather.
For Annie, that is the heart of it. A bookstore is not just shelves and inventory. It is a place where someone can wander in, find something unexpected, and feel less alone. It is a place where a child can discover the first book that belongs to them, where a reader can hold a beautiful edition from across the ocean, where a neighbor can recommend a title that changes the shelf for someone else.
After a life that has taken her from New York to Texas, Missouri, Florida, Utah, back to Florida, and back again to Salt Lake, Annie says the bookstore has grounded her. It has given shape to her love of literature, her belief in neighborhoods, her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, and her own instinct to keep moving toward what matters. “I love when people pick up a book, and they’re so excited to read it, just looking at the glimmer in their eyes, like me, when I get a book, and I’m ready to read my book, and I just want to find out what’s in between those pages.”
