The brothers Karibu: from street sales to a five-store chain. (market buzz).

For a brief moment, the brothers at Karibu took time out to have their cake and eat it, too. Earlier this year, Karibu (pronounced KA-REE-BOO) Books marked its tenth anniversary with a monthlong community celebration that included signings and discussions, live entertainment and, of course, a huge cake. It was an observance befitting a business that evolved from vending tables on the campuses and streets of Washington, D.C., to a five-store chain in its Maryland and Virginia suburbs and a Publishers Weekly finalist for Bookstore of the Year.

The co-owners, Brother Simba Sana and Brother Yao Ahoto, although proud and grateful, realize they cannot rest. Their mission statement--To create a financially viable African-owned and operated cultural institution--hangs in every store as their mantra and challenge.

Karibu means "welcome" in Swahili and the bookstores provide an atmosphere in which readers, writers and ideas comfortably come together. The author Gwynne Forster agrees. "From my first book in 1995--when Simba and Yao owned a store-and-a-half--to my twenty-first book, when they had grown to a chain of stores, I have been welcomed at Karibu Books."

Forster says what makes Karibu Books "a force to be reckoned with in book selling is the drive, hard work, dedication and integrity of the owners. Add that to their love of books and their pride in the African American Diaspora, and it is dear that their stunning success is not an accident."

Sana and Ahoto met in the late 1980s through the African Development Association, a black nationalist organization whose activities included alternative study groups, food, youth and prison outreach programs. Both men, who are in their early 30s, talk about consciousness-raising, economic independence, black infrastructure, cultural preservation and community cooperation in ways that would gladden the hearts of 1960s activists.

The duo began as street vendors in the early 1990s, selling books, incense and oils. That venture grew into a pushcart and kiosk at Prince George's Plaza in Maryland that impressed both customers and mall management. Eventually they moved into a storefront there. Karibu now employs a staff of 40 and operates four stores in Maryland and a kiosk in Arlington, Virginia.

What is the secret of Karibu's success? Another Swahili term heshima, or respect, holds part of the answer. The bookstores are committed to providing quality service to a constituency that has not always been treated with respect by both black and non-black retailers.

Sana, a former auditor with a major accounting firm, says, "In the stores, we culturally try to focus on one thing and one thing only--books, books, books. It makes your customers respect what you do, to respect it as a cultural institution. Customers should think of you when they think of books."

It's what brings Carrie Miller of Monroe, Louisiana, back to Karibu whenever she visits the area. Miller, a former Maryland resident, "spent many a lunch hour" in the Prince George's Plaza store. "They have great sales tables," says Miller. On a recent visit to the newest store in Bowie, Maryland, she picked up an audiocassette version of Zora Neale Hurston's Every Tongue Got to Confess.

Karibu offers a wide variety of books, including what Sana calls "core books--books every African American household should have. We do not tell people what to read," he adds quickly. "We offer choices." As a result, books about Malcolm X can peacefully coexist with works by Donald Goines at Karibu.

The stores host 20 to 30 signings each month. As many as 10 book clubs buy their books from Karibu and receive discounts for their purchases. Internet consumers can buy books on the store's Website: www.karibubooks.com, or e-mail at [e-mail].

Sana and Ahoto keep their collective eyes on financial viability. "When things go wrong, the first area we look at is ourselves, our inventory, our display, our management. We don't blame the economy or 9/11," says Sana. "We must continue to grow with better technology and more books. A bookstore should be bursting at the seams with new books."

Karibu stores are located at Prince George's Plaza, Hyattsville, MD; Bowie Town Center, Bowie, MD; Iverson Mall, Hillcrest Heights, MD; Forest Village Park Mall, Forestville, MD; and Pentagon City, Arlington, VA. For further information, see www.karibubooks.com.