Old Capitol Books has been host to dozens of booksellers for the past thirteen years, and is currently owned by Stephanie Spoto.
Stephanie Spoto (Proprietor) has worked at Old Capitol Books since its opening in 2012. She has a PhD in English Literature from Edinburgh University and teaches literature and philosophy at CSU Monterey Bay and Monterey Peninsula College.
History:
Matthew Sundt bought the Book Haven on October 12, 2012 from Guy Rodriguez and Jerry Welling who owned the Book Haven since 2004 (Guy and Jerry also owned Yesterday’s Books in Moss Landing from 1992-2004). Upon purchase of the Book Haven in 2012, the name of the book store was changed to Old Capitol Books, which reflects the name of Matthew’s family book store that was located at 639-A Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey (now Gold Coast Tattoo across the street from Hula’s restaurant). Old Capitol Books was originally established in 1983 and was the Peninsula’s premiere book store for 20 years and now Old Capitol Books Redux! and now in downtown Monterey. Matthew captured the lingering palpable “goodwill” from Old Capitol Books and combined it with the swarm of Book Haven devotees to build his own bookstore style. He ran the bookstore until purchased in 2017 by Ali Elfaki. In 2024, Stephanie Spoto took over ownership of the bookstore and runs it with the help of bookseller Ryan Carroll and their friends.
Old Capitol Books 