1985 — Huey Lewis was topping charts, Reagan was president and Kate Rosenberger and business partner George Kirby Desha made the leap from bookstore employees (at Berkeley's Half Price Books) to bookstore owners. The two had definitely decided on Oakland as the store's location, until a newspaper ad brought them to Noe Valley and the neighborhood's then-hippie charm won them over.

Phoenix was initially located a little further down the block, where Ladybug, Ladybug is today. The store was conceived during a magical time when landlords took chances on people they liked — Kate and George started the store with $10,000, no previous credit history and a lease sealed with handshake. Ah, how Noe Valley has changed. Phoenix moved to their cozy corner spot (formerly Noe Jeans) in 1988.

After a lease scare a few years ago, Phoenix — true to her name — has risen again, thanks to amazing support from customers and local business owners. Today, over two decades later, Phoenix has become the grande dame of the three stores — the classy lady that sets the standards and trends for her two offspring, Dog Eared and Red HIll.

Kate hatched the idea for Dog Eared in 1992 at a tea party at the beloved Radio Valencia (R.I.P.). The store's original location was on Valencia Street between 23rd and 24th Streets in the space that the Scarlet Sage now occupies - Kate picked it because a large red heart had been painted on the window for years. In 1986, Dog Eared moved to the larger, sunnier space it currently calls home (formerly a furniture shop called Hocus Pocus).

Reflective of the Mission district itself, Dog Eared is the largest and most eclectic of the three stores — you'll find anarchist magazines next to Vanity Fair, Nina Simone cds next to Joy Division and Michelle Tea poetry next to Chaucer.

Although Kate moved to Berkeley after the birth of her daughter, Hazle Adele a few years back, she'd been a Bernal Hill resident for 15 years and had long been in love with the neighborhood. When the building located at the corner of Cortland and Bennington came up for sale, she jumped at the opportunity. Red Hill was first conceived as a possible relocation spot for Phoenix when that store's lease was up in the air in 2003. However, since then, Red Hill has taken on a distinct life of its own.

Named after Bernal's communist past, Red Hill has been experiencing a growth spurt to accommodate the store's big ideas. The small space nearly tripled in size and is poised to become not only a hub for great books but for community events like art openings, book clubs and writing groups.