Brownsville’s Búho bookstore readies for new Barnes & Noble — and welcomes the boost in readers

In a true story of David versus Goliath, a small independent Brownsville bookstore is bracing itself for the grand opening of behemoth Barnes & Noble on Wednesday.

Brownsville native Gilbert Hernandez, who owns Búho (rhymes with duo) located in downtown Brownsville, says he’s not too worried about the challenge.

“I welcome them into the city, knowing that it will help create more readers,” Hernandez said. “At the end of the day, Búho aims to provide a home to our customers, and people will flock to us for our curated selection of new books, our community events, our antique books and maps, and our upcoming coffee bar.”

Hernandez insisted that the coffee bar, expected to open in a month or so, was always part of the plan. 

“If you look at our logo, Búho means owl, the eyes of the owl are two coffee cups,” Hernandez pointed out. “My original plan was to beat Barnes & Noble and get the coffee bar open before they arrived, but I’ll play the cards I’ve been dealt, and jaws will drop once everyone sees the completed coffee bar.”

From pop-up tables to storefront

The 30-year-old started Búho in 2022 with 500 pounds of books in the back of his truck, a folding table, and two library carts. He set up a pop-up shops wherever he was allowed. Phase two was the opening of the storefront in 2023, and phase three is the bookstore’s expansion with the upcoming coffee bar.

“In a bigger city, we would have higher foot traffic, and we wouldn’t depend on a second source of income,” Hernandez said. “The coffee bar gives people who come into the store another option, to come in for another reason. Food and drinks do very well in downtown Brownsville, and we also have wine.

“And there’s a very mysterious phase four coming, that will completely change the game for book selling in South Texas,” Hernandez teased. “I say that because there’s maybe four or five bookstores in Texas that do this thing that I’m talking about, and Búho would be the first one south of Austin to do it.”

Curated books, antique maps, and loyal customer base

Búho customers are primarily university age, but Hernandez notes that he sees all age groups enter his doors due to his wide inventory, noting that about 90% of his customer base comes from individuals born and raised in Brownsville. Hernandez has one employee who helps him run the store, and will soon be hiring two more.

“I think we have some of the oldest items for sale in Brownsville,” Hernandez said. “We have maps that were produced in the 1700s for sale here.”

Hernandez laughs hard when he explains how he acquired some of his inventory. 

“A bookstore in New Orleans pointed me to a source (for the maps),” Hernandez said with a hearty chuckle. “And that person was retiring, so I bought out the entire inventory.”

Competition as a motivation — not a threat

Like all retail businesses, there are times when Hernandez experiences a drop in sales.

“I think to myself, ‘What have I done?” Hernandez said, laughing again. “And the next day, people show up in droves, for no particular reason. That’s retail randomness.”

Hernandez enjoyed having no other bookshops to compete with for just a few years, credits Búho patrons with his progress, and believes it gave Barnes & Noble an indicator that a reading population exists in Brownsville.

“We may not have the thousands of books, the Legos, the board games, but we hope to provide a better experience, where people leave the store and think, ‘I learned something great or important today,’” Hernandez said. “And the elephant in the room had me on overdrive for months and encouraged me to advance all of my plans, and in a strange way, I’m grateful for them.”