BY JILL LANG
Owner
Samizdat Bookstore & Teahouse

Samizdat Bookstore and Teahouse would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in making the Fall 2021 Retail Accelerator program a huge success. We talk a lot in Los Alamos about the frustration of living in a town that can feel dominated by empty, decaying buildings, and disappointment at what feels like a loss of businesses. The folks at Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation (LACDC), a private nonprofit 501(c)(6), stepped up, took a risk on a new program, and helped launch four new retail businesses that not only tested their concept in a pop-up environment – but who now have plans to have a permanent presence in our community. 

Ryn Herrmann, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, and Lauren McDaniel, Director of Los Alamos MainStreet, put in countless hours to help prospective business owners refine their ideas and business plans. In addition to LACDC’s investment, the Retail Accelerator program was also funded by a New Mexico Economic Development Department LEADS grant, as well as support from New Mexico MainStreet and LANL Community Partnerships Office.

Their creative thinking, hard work, and willingness to try something different in Los Alamos, as well as the incredible support from our community, have led directly to the space-sharing partnership that Samizdat has been able to form with the Los Alamos STEAM Lab. 

Thank you, Ryn. Thank you, Lauren. Thank you, NM Economic Development Department, NM MainStreet and LANL Community Partnerships Office. Thank you, STEAM Lab. Thank you, Los Alamos. We look forward to working with all of you to serve our community by bringing an independent bookstore (and upcoming teahouse) back to our town!