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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1998)
t march fi. 1998 28 PROFILE ....................▼.................... From one good book to others have to admit to a bit of bias in support of Rick Spencer’s claim that his bookstore, Gai-Pied, is committed to being a full-ser vice resource for the gay male community. Hick Spencer preaches community The evidence rests on the shelves of his store and with his deeds. from a different kind of pulpit I first met Spencer in April 1996, while 1 by R u p e r t K in n a r d was laid up in the hospital recuperating from a that coincided with stumbling across C.C. Spencer is very pleased with the support spinal cord injury. He had read about my acci Slaughter’s, a gay bar. During his third visit to he’s received from Holly Mulcahey, owner of dent in Just Out and came by to personally the bar he met the man of his dreams, Allen It’s My Pleasure, a Portland book and gift store deliver something I had ordered from his store Forbes, a hearing-impaired man who would that caters largely to a lesbian clientele. weeks before. Along with exhibiting a wonder become his lover for 10 years. Forbes passed ful bedside manner, Spencer is exuberant away of AIDS-related-illness in March 1995. rowing up in North Carolina as a right- when it comes to his dedication to going Later that year, Spencer decided to start his wing Christian, Spencer even spent time beyond being considered simply a bookseller. own business. The decision to open a book behind a pulpit as an evangelist at age 17. Spencer is the owner of Gai-Pied (pro store won out over the possibility of opening a But upon turning 21, he recalls, he began nounced “gay pee-ay”), and makes his commu coffee shop. questioning everything. nity presence known yearly with booths at Though he had considered the Hawthorne In 1984 Spencer received a Christmas pre both the Portland and Vancouver Pride cele area for his venture, Spencer says he feels for sent that changed his life: a ticket to visit his brations. And in order to better serve the com munity, Gai-Pied has become a part of the information super highway with its new Web site (www.gaipied.com). Spencer seems proud of building virtual bridges with gay men from places as near as rural Oregon to as far away as Mexico, a market that he says is rarely tapped. Spencer admits, however, that his main goals for Gai-Pied are to stay on top of the most recent book and gay- themed theatrical video releases and to secure his clients’ special orders. (Such orders usually take three to seven days, depending on the publisher.) While some of the materials available at Gai-Pied may appeal to a wider audience, Spencer is focused on serving the gay male community. “I believe Gai-Pied will remain a men’s store,” he says. “There have been requests from some women to carry lesbian- oriented material, but 1 don’t think so.” Spencer says he believes that bookstores in most cities try to combine lesbian and gay literature. But Portland, he Rick Spencer fine tunes a display table under Sam’s watchful eye says, is accustomed to separate stores. sister in Portland. That visit, scheduled to last tunate to have opened Gay-Pied at a crucial “Men are more comfortable in an all-male two weeks, has never ended. Spencer loves time in the development of the small business space as a community setting," Spencer rea corridor on Northeast Broadway between 20th Portland so much that he’s never returned to sons. “My understanding is that years ago there and 28th avenues. With the Metropolitan North Carolina, where his 81-year-old, was a store in Old Town that started as a men’s Community Church of Portland and a number staunchly conservative Christian father keeps bookstore, but eventually added lesbian- the home fires burning. of gay- and lesbian-owned businesses nearby, About a year after settling in the Rose City, oriented material and ended up closing down. the area is welcoming to gay folks. Another I like to focus on men only, to do justice to Spencer says, he came to grips with the possi plus: parking is plentiful. Within two or three bility of his being gay. A realization, he says, what is available.” months of Gay-Pied’s grand opening, a liaison i G Do what you want and the money will com e. Q n t ir i f u U l l V /L At Wilken & Lorenzen, we know that money is more than just facts and figures. Sometimes money can be surrounded by complicated emotional issues. We can help. We re a full-service account ing firm with an awareness of the real world, not just the world of the IRS. Because of our outside perspective, we can usually bring more clarity to the way you do business or the way you structure your estate. Call us to see how we can support your enterprise and affect the bottom line. LkkWilken & Lorenzen, PC. C E R T I F I E D P U B L I C A C C O U N T A N T S We’ve got your (503)225-1359 2701 NW Vaughn, Suite 424 Portland, OR 97210 from the mayor’s office stopped by to check out the new business and to offer support. As further proof of his willingness to put extra energy into the service he provides, Spencer was able to turn the only ordeal he has faced since the stores opening into a posi tive experience. For a time there were prob lems with some street youth hanging out in front of the store and hassling customers. The police response was disappointingly slow, he says. Taking matters into his own hands, Spencer says he opened a dialogue with some of the youth and was able to answer questions they had about being gay. He reports that he’s had very little trouble since. Spencer says he was able to gain the kids’ respect and impressed upon them that he “didn’t choose to be gay.” He finds his most rewarding conversations with them involve issues about accepting people for who they are. He is currently working with two fledgling groups for queer youth, trying to stock relevant materials, and often talks to young people who wander into the store. Though Spencer presently lives in Vancouver, he says he would like to move to a neigh borhood closer to Gai-Pied. Always looking to improve his store, Spencer hopes to add on that coffee shop and has devel oped a club for frequent book buyers. “If you buy 12 books over time, you get the 13 th free,” he explains. “And we’re the only store in the area that offers hardcover book rentals.” Gai-Pied also welcomes trade-ins for credit and is work ing on a video-rental discount program. Spencer confesses a belief in trying to use his business to make a difference in the com munity. He says the point he stresses to young people is “What good is life if you only choose to work for money?” And he continues to make sure his actions speak louder than his words. ■ Author and former Portlander T om NUSSBAUM will read from and sign copies of his new book, Completing the Course, from 1 to 2:30 pm Saturday, April 18, at Gai-Pied Bookstore, 2544 N E Broadway. For more information, call 331-1125 or e-mail books@gaipied. com. "W e'd like to get to know you" A special introduction; Mention you saw tins ad in Just Out and CUSTOM FRAMING IS Assembly is I r e e - You pay for the materials • Complete Projects only • Uniframes excluded ‘Picture This’ FRAMING GALLERY 2801 SE Holgate • Portland • 236-1400 Plenty o f F R E E parking at our convienent Eastside location M o n .-Fit 9:30 am - 6 pm • Saturday 10 am-5:30 pm ^ppwi tv compmie propcn wry, not m do Umvmen min item ovrw*