Peggy Mullen, the owner of Alaskan gem River City Books, has been inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame.
Not only is Mullen creative and a visionary, she is also a passionate conservationist and steward of the environment.
She still lives on the homestead property where she grew up. Last summer, she built the third incarnation of her bookstore, River City Books, on a corner of the homestead near the highway to Homer. It is elegantly designed with every “green and sustainable” element possible —from solar panels to edible plants surrounding it…
Mullen has made significant contributions to Soldotna and Alaska in very tangible forms. She started four elegant small business in a wilderness town. The first, in 1978, was “Four Seasons,” a lovely little restaurant, the first of its kind in Soldotna (and, impressively for its time, an architecturally-designed building!) set back in the woods on the homestead property with a gourmet Alaska fare. The second was Northcountry Fair, a small design shop with household wares and gifts—a little of everything—like an upscale general store for folks far from a city. It really showcased Mullen’s delightful and whimsical humor and her touch of the artist by adding a little elegance in the woods. It surely nurtured another side of the community heart. The third business which she now still runs is River City Books. This small bookstore with an incredible selection is where folks come for books and talks or to gather and eat at another one of her former businesses, “now placed in very capable young hands,” she says. She opened a little market and deli, which is still in the same store as the bookstore, and now is called Lucy’s Cafe…
You can read more about River City Books and Lucy’s Cafe in their new-as-of-last-year location in this article from the Peninsula Clarion.