By: Kory Lanphear
Photos: Bailey Sadowsky
Reading is usually a solitary activity, but it doesn’t have to be. Book lovers Caitlin and Andrew Nissen invite you to drop by Monarch Books and Boutique, make some friends and maybe pick up a new book or two.
Andy is a welder by trade and Caitlin runs her own therapy practice, Monarch Counseling Center. Both are avid readers. The couple always shared a dream of owning their own bookstore.
“In my therapy practice, a common thing that I hear a lot is that there’s just a lack of where to find new connections with people,” Caitlin said.
“That was part of why Andy and I talked about opening Monarch — just having a place really focused on that community feeling and creating those connections with people.”
When the company where Andy worked for 12 years unexpectedly went out of business, the couple started discussing tapping Caitlin’s practice to finance their dream. “We were like, holy […], we’re gonna make this a reality. Part of it was this space, too. I just loved it,” said Caitlin.
Monarch Books and Boutique opened on May 31, 2025 on the corner of Main and 7th Streets. The updated building that was originally a bank dating back to early 1900s. The back of the building still features some old vaults complete with stickers signed by workers as part of some long-ago routine.
Andy and Caitlin are area locals — Andy is from Piedmont and graduated from Sturgis Brown High School, Caitlin went to St. Thomas Moore High School, Black Hills State University for undergrad, and finally South Dakota State University’s remote campus for her master’s degree in counseling. They share two children: Roland, 9, and Rheanna, 15, who attend local schools.
“Our sense of community is so important to us. It’s important that we’re greeting people as they come in and that we’re talking about books with them, giving book recommendations and getting recommendations for ourselves, too,” Caitlin said.
Monarch has a traditional monthly book club which most recently read “My Friends: A Novel” by Frederick Bachman. Then there is the Monarch After Dark book club, which explores what Caitlin calls the “spicier” reads. For Halloween, the choice was “House of Rayne” by Harley LaRoux, a horror-romance.
“I like thrillers. I love mysteries. I actually didn’t even read any romance novels until Andy got me into them,” said Caitlin.
“I read everything,” Andy said. “There’s good books out there in all genres, so I pretty much just read whatever looks good. Life is full of wonders.”
With its custom bookshelves of deep brown, centrally located loveseat,
recliners and coffee table, Monarch is the kind of bookstore you see in movies: cheery, cozy, familiar. You would feel right at home upon cinematically stumbling in from the pouring rain.
As you browse, you’ll find books and gift displays that appeal to varying interests. “The gifts are tailored to us. We have our horror and ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ in the back, and that really speaks to Andy,” Caitlin said. “I have my ‘Gilmore Girls’ section. We have Disney and Taylor Swift stuff. People feed off your excitement about things. We have to be authentically ourselves. We want people to feel like they know us, and that they want to come and talk to us.”
Upstairs is the Children’s and Young Adults sections over which Caitlin’s mom, known as Grandma Nancy, fusses as a labor of love. A butterfly mural greets customers as they ascend the staircase to attend, say, Monarch’s monthly Children’s Storytime.
“Once a month, we try to do a local author signing. I’m trying to incorporate games and things like that. We’re also doing book release events,” said Caitlin. Monarch’s first such event was a November midnight release for Callie Hart’s “Brimstone,” a much-anticipated sequel to Hart’s popular romance-fantasy novel, “Quicksilver.”
For the couple, who are retail newbies, there has been a slight learning curve to their entry into the book business. Counting out change was a new one for Caitlin. “You can’t please everyone because we can’t have all the books in here,” Andy added. Another lesson: don’t order too many books. You do have to sell them all, eventually.
“I just think that the more people that know about us, come down, and love the space as much as we do, the better,” Caitlin said. “It’s all about that connection with people. That’s what we really try to provide.”
Original Article available in the December edition of Elevate Magazine
