With Abraxus Books gone from the neighborhood and Epilogue Books closing its doors in August, Secret Garden Bookshop on Market Street finds itself in the position of being Ballard's sole major bookstore.

"I don't think of us as the last bookstore in Ballard," said Christy McDanold, owner of Secret Garden, which opened in 1977. "I think of us as the longest bookstore in Ballard."

McDanold said Secret Garden has survived because it is good at what it does, and she sees a potentially bright future.

"Yeah, I'm optimistic," she said. "I'm cautiously optimistic."

McDanold bought Secret Garden Bookshop, which was a children's specialty bookstore in Green Lake at the time, in 1995. In 2000, the store moved to Ballard and expanded its focus.

"I love being in a business where the thing I sell matters," she said. "This is something I particularly value."

The store has been remarkably stable throughout the years, McDanold said.

One employee has been at Secret Garden for 13 years. Another gave two-years notice, instead of the typical two weeks, when she quit. And, store employees are on a first-name basis with the FedEx delivery man, the same one they've had for seven years.

Given this stability, McDanold said she believes Secret Garden can weather the economic storm.

One of the things that has helped the store during the recession was a big risk on McDanold's part that turned into a big reward.

"I stuck my neck out big time hiring a full-time events coordinator," she said. "But, the program we've developed with the library has worked out great. People count on the readings now and always ask when the next one will be."

The problem for independent businesses in Ballard, as McDanold sees it, is that now that Ballard is growing into a hip, happening place, landlords are looking to charge downtown rents in a neighborhood area.

McDanold said she doubts Secret Garden's landlord wants to see turnover in the space, but they will see when it comes time to renew their lease.

Ultimately though, Ballard's business landscape isn't up to landlords and the economy, it's up to the community itself, she said.

Neighbors can decide where they want to spend their money, whether they want to be able to purchase what they need in Ballard when they need it or whether they want to order in online and wait for it to be delivered, McDanold said.

If it's the latter, then soon the neighborhood will be left with only bars and coffee shops, she said.

McDanold said she has hopes that Ballard can maintain the kind of business community it has now, one that allows neighbors to walk around, pop into shops that catch their interest and get to know their neighbors.

"Ballard is changing a lot," she said. "But, what I've found is that new Ballard didn't know they wanted a community like this, but they found it and are blown away by it."

McDanold likened the crossroads the neighborhood is facing to some famous lyrics by Joni Mitchell: "You don't know what you've got till it's gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

McDanold said she hopes the neighborhood realizes and appreciates – like her employees and customers do – what it has before it's gone.