In 1999, Peggy Mullen opened her small business, River City Books, in Soldotna, Alaska. What began as an independent bookstore run out of two rented locations transitioned into her own storefront on homesteading land that had been in her family for more than 70 years. The company describes, “Over those years, it served as farmland, a laundromat, and a horse pasture before becoming overgrown with trees and brush. Today, the land provides a lovely setting for the bookstore, with wooded areas surrounding it, beautiful (and edible!) landscaping, and little trails winding through the yard.”
The land is, therefore, packed with family history. “This was our first field when we were farmers trying to make a living in the early 50’s, and we were saved by Wildwood air force base, which came in and actually gave us a market,” Mullen pointed out to KDLL. At the same time, there were new surprises. “We found an unusual amount of topsoil,” Mullen remembered, which retired geologist Dick Reger said was because “this was probably once a streambed here that collected all of that organic matter.” Now, the topsoil is used for planting.
With the land’s history, the environment, in fact, became a central focus of the store’s operations. In 2019, around the time of the story’s twentieth birthday, Mullen moved into this new location. She told the Peninsula Clarion, “If I was going to build something new, I wanted to do it properly,” so she reached out to Lumen Design in Anchorage for assistance. As a result of their collaboration, the building features a ventilation system that efficiently circulates air, LED lighting, and large windows that let in abundant sunlight. Mullen credits Petra Sattler-Smith, owner of Lumen Design, as the reason “why this room is filled with light,” adding, “She calls this style Nordic Modern, and you do pay attention to things like light in the north.” Lumen Design, in turn, says the project represents “sustainable design on a tight budget.”
Photo Courtesy River City Books
Mullen also worked with Anchorage Solar to install 23 solar panels on the building’s southwest side, bringing the total to 59 panels, including the rooftop panels. Mullen took out loans and used both federal tax credits and a $13,525 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) project to install the 15-kilowatt system. Plus, the parking lot features an electric vehicle charging station, providing customers with free level 2 EV charging thanks to the solar system.
At the time of the award, Mullen expected the solar panels to save enough energy to power 2.5 homes for a year, amounting to about $3,800 in annual electricity bill savings. She has since added that the panels generate more electricity than the business uses and that she has been able to break even on electricity costs every month.
Going solar was top of mind for Mullen after a 2018 United Nations report estimated that the world had about another decade to cut carbon emissions to avoid climate change’s most dramatic effects. Motivated by this, Mullen and Anchorage Solar owner Ben May spoke at a 2019 solar presentation. There, May told the audience that a system with 20 panels could offset 212,621 pounds of carbon emissions over 30 years. Mullen elaborated to the Peninsula Clarion on why minimizing her business’s carbon footprint was important to her, “If you’ve lived in Alaska for a while, and have paid attention, you’ve noticed the changes.” She explained to KDLL, “It’s important, I think, anybody who builds anything now and anybody who has the opportunity to retrofit should be doing what we can. We all have grandkids.”
It is not Mullen’s first contribution to the local economy, either. In 1978, she opened Four Seasons, a restaurant that served Alaskan dishes. According to her biography in the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame, it was “the first of its kind in Soldotna (and, impressively for its time, an architecturally-designed building!).” Her next business was Northcountry Fair, a design shop similar to a general store, selling household wares and gifts. Finally, she opened River City Books, and now shares the same space with a deli and market called Lucy’s Market.
Kelsey Shields, owner of Lucy’s Market, told the Peninsula Clarion that the new location offered her business three times more space than it had before. As they were moving in, she said to KDLL, “We’ve been brainstorming all morning about how we can fit more prep tables into our kitchen already.” Lucy’s Market offers breads, cheeses, and natural foods to customers, after Shields realized “a lot of people have poor selection of options around here.” The company explains, “We believe in food that is thoughtful, well-made, and rooted in community. Whenever possible, we source locally and work with producers who care deeply about quality, craft, and sustainability.”
Photo Courtesy Lucy’s Market
Plus, River City Books highlights the work of local Alaskan authors. As Mullen noted to the Peninsula Clarion, “Creative people need to have a place to sell their work, and we’re happy to do that. We keep a shelf of local authors, some of which sell better than others, but they need to have exposure somewhere, and we’re happy to be that place.” Often, these local creatives are present in the store to meet customers or sign book copies. For example, in 2024, Tessa Hulls returned to Alaska after originally moving to the state in 2012 to go on a “bike/book tour in Alaska visiting old friends and making new ones along the way” with hopes to “reconnect with community and wild landscapes.” River City Books was one of her stops.
Photo Courtesy River City Books
Mullen and River City Books also support various local programs and nonprofits, for example, by sponsoring the Cook Inletkeeper‘s annual electronics recycling event and participating in a local school fundraiser. Last year, the business gave a 20% boost to the number of books collected by the Triumvirate Theatre for its Rosie’s Readers free book giveaway for local children. It is no wonder that the Alaska Center for the Book this month honored River City Books for its “ongoing community support for reading, writing, and sharing stories.”
