How a bookseller came up with a genius idea to boost sales, engage readers

The idea has not just shored up the business, but actually increased sales by some 20 per cent

At five minutes after seven on a Saturday morning, the bookstore in this idyllic town was not yet officially open — that happens at 7:30 a.m. — but Susanne Frühauf had already rung up the first three customers of the day. At a shelf in the corner, behind a rack of discount paperbacks, her husband Wolfgang was working as quickly as he could.

“They’re like moths,” said Mr. Frühauf, genially, of his customers. “As soon as the lights go on, they come.”

With that, he got back to work, stacking not books, but rows of freshly baked bread rolls sprinkled with poppy,