Lehi Business
Local sisters take bookselling on the road
Randi Rose and Kayleigh Dixon, sisters local to Lehi and Saratoga Springs, are both avid readers. Their love for reading led them to discuss the possibility of owning a bookstore together, but as any business owner knows, opening a physical store is a massive–and expensive–undertaking.
At a family barbecue last summer, Rose brought up the idea of building a bookstore in a trailer. The very next day they bought the trailer and got to work, celebrating their grand opening just two months later. The tiny shop’s plans started on the back of a lunch menu. The sisters sat down and started discussing measurements, what furniture could go where, and so on.
“We were just like, ‘What can we put here? What do we have to put here?’ and then measuring all the bookshelves. It was kind of like a puzzle, and we book lovers love a puzzle,” said Rose.
“There wasn’t a reference guide because we hadn’t really seen it done before, so we just thought, ‘What would be cute?’” added Dixon.
After tailoring the layout, decorations, products and overall experience to book lovers like themselves, they held a grand opening at the Outlets at Traverse Mountain. Four days later, they took The Book Box on the road. They visited parking lots, markets, and were even able to be vendors at Pinner’s Conference.
The unique book sellers have found a semi-permanent home at the Traverse Outlets, allowing them to have a spot where book lovers can always find them while retaining the flexibility and small scale of a trailer.
They may have started small, but Rose and Dixon know there are big things in store for The Book Box.
“We love the idea of being able to pop-up all-over Utah, to go visit different areas and markets, stuff like that. We know there are big things coming, but we just aren’t exactly sure what that is,” said Rose.
“It’s a constant conversation of how we can grow and what we’re doing next,” Dixon added.
While they hope to have a storefront one day, the trailer will always be part of their business.
“We want to keep it because people love it. It’s charming, and it’s unique,” said Dixon.
As an added perk of starting small, the pair has been able to fill their trailer with a carefully curated selection of their books, including their personal favorites and books that are trending on Instagram and TikTok. In terms of genre, customers at The Book Box can expect to find fantasy, romance, thrillers and a small selection of non-fiction books.
“Something people like about Book Box is that it’s small. It’s not a huge store or a big selection. Everything in there is something we’ve read, or our employees have read, or want to read,” said Rose. “We talk a lot about the people that grew up with Harry Potter and Twilight, that genre of books. A lot of us have gotten back into the fantasy world because of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is really big right now. That’s one of our best-selling books.”
Rose, Dixon and all their employees love talking books. They believe this is something that sets them apart as booksellers: that they always want to chat with their patrons about favorite books and recommendations.
Speaking of recommendations, the bookselling sisters have a list of books they’d recommend to someone looking for a good read:
● “One Dark Window,” fantasy series by Rachel
● “Lessons in Chemistry,” historical fiction by Bonnie Garmus
● “Fourth Wing,” fantasy series by Rebecca Yarros
● “The Serpent and the Wings of Night,” fantasy series by Carissa Broadbent
● “The Midnight Library,” contemporary fiction by Matt Haig
Find The Book Box at the Outlets at Traverse Mountain. To follow along with The Book Box and to get information about future events like release parties and author signings, visit their Instagram @thebookbox.ut or their website at www.shopbookbox.com.
