Discover a candid review of Unruly Cactus Books and Coffee in Port Isabel, Texas — a local independent bookstore with potential but struggling with organization, staff engagement, and book curation. See what could help this shop truly shine.
We came all the way down the east side of Texas so that my dad could see Space X, and I could get the Palo Alto Battlefield National Park Stamp. Since we were in the area for a day, I decided to check out if there were any local bookstores. There were three, but I only really had time to check out the Unruly Cactus. Honestly, I thought the name sounded fun and that it would have a great personality, so I took a 25 minute drive from Brownsville, Texas to Port Isabel. Port Isabel is a beach community and more lively than Brownsville so I had hopes going into the town that the bookstore would live up to its fun personality name.
Sadly no such luck.
Parking was a bit of a struggle, so I parked about a block away in a parking lot and walked to the store (not a problem, and I find this with a lot of independent bookstores; parking is usually a concern). The outside did look fun and cute with the sign and the painted windows. From the outside it had a lot of energy and light. I could see this being a cool hangout spot with the benches in front, and patio like seating. Unfortunately, the inside does not match the outside.
When you walk in, you walk into a poorly lit cave. There is one room to the side, and then a larger room ahead, and behind the counter is a third area with used books. There is more than enough space, but the space isn’t used effectively. There are varying sizes of bookshelves and they seem to be in random areas. I don’t mind the random sizes, but I do mind the thought process for putting shelves in the aisle where it makes it harder for people to pass through.
When we came in, there was a nice group of individuals sitting on the couches in the room to my left. They were chilling while two members of their group were perusing the books. Sadly due to the arrangement of the couches and shelves, it was hard not to get in everyone’s way in order to look at the books. I gave up after a moment, realizing that section was mostly politics and history. While I can usually spend more time in those sections, I decided to go for easier pickings in the teen section, so that the group could chill in peace.
Each section was small, maybe 30 to 50 books in any section. Some only had 10. The bookstore tried to cover all genres and made it confusing in their ordering. I was in the teen section and suddenly it turned to scifi without notice. The authors were out of order and half the books said 40% off, but I wasn’t sure if it was because they were used. Some of the books looked used and some looked brand new.
Each area has some staff picks listed, but the largest amount was in the teen section. Honestly, I think a teen or a child wrote the staff picks, and they were generic and had little thought put into it. The staff picks were from books that have been popular for ten years, so there were no new hits to look through. I dug through the teen and middle school section and found bestseller books I could get at any big box store or amazon. I found one books I had looked at previously in the scifi section and picked it up along with three children’s picture books done by celebrities that I could have gotten anywhere.
Then I rummaged around the used book area. It was a mess and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the setup. I also felt like it was a backroom that needed more function. It was tight and had a huge fan blowing as I doubt the a/c was on in that section.
Now, not once while I was looking around was I greeted by a bookseller. I saw two teenagers chatting at a small patio table and chilling on their phones. When a lady came in to order coffee, the girl got up and made the coffee. The two teens/maybe twenty year olds were totally focused on themselves and not the customers. When they served coffee they were more animated, but they didn’t seem to care about the books at all, as evident by their staff picks. I was only greeted once I got to the cash register with books in hand.
Look, I want to like all independent bookstores because we need them in our society. They give us local authors, opportunities to hear new voices, and they curate their collections so that books don’t get lost in the massive publishing machine. I want independent bookstores to do well so they don’t shutter. I can see this bookstore shutter because they aren’t actively working at being a great independent bookstore.
Here is what Unruly Cactus needs to do to make themselves a better bookstore.
- You are a beach town, lean into that. Figure out what your local population reads and keep those sections large and a beach read section for the tourists. Curate your collection. You don’t have to have every section to make an impact, and in your case you probably shouldn’t.
- Light up your space, it is way too dark
- Reorganize your space. You have the space, but you are not using it effectively.
- Get someone who reads to write your staff picks.
- Find staff members who want to pull in customers whether they are local or tourist.
- Clearly define used and new books, and restructure your used section.
- Way too much visual clutter, clean it up so that people can really see what you are offering.
What to keep:
- You have comfortable seating, and people are taking advantage of it.
- People are coming to you for coffee, use that, but maybe put coffee to the front and books to the back or in the side room.
Unruly Cactus has potential, and I do hope it makes it as a business. I am just not sure if the book owner is serious about getting business or if it is a fun hobby business
