Thousands upon thousands of books now line the new shelves of the Bunch of Grapes bookstore, ready for its reopening this Saturday. But one book in particular played a big role in determining the new look of refurbished business.

It is Paco Underhill’s Why We Buy: the Science of Shopping. The wider aisles, the more open look to the place, even the repositioned sales desk, all are down to what owner Dawn Braasch learned from Mr. Underhill

When she bought the iconic Vineyard book store, which had been severely damaged by fire last July 4, she not only had to rebuild, but educate herself in the very specialized business of selling books.

“So I took a class — believe it or not there is a week-long class in book selling — because when I bought the store I knew nothing beyond what I’d learned from running events here for two years,” she said.

“And the first book they recommended was that one.”

It taught her a lot of things, ranging from how much width there should be between the shelves so that people don’t bump into each other if they bend over to get a book off the shelf, to the number of times the average person handles a book before buying, to the direction people tend to circulate in a store.

Some of it seems like simple common retail sense: the longer someone stays in your store and the further they venture into the premises, the more likely they are to buy something.

But other things came as a surprise, like the fact that people generally enter a store by the right hand door, as they are facing the store.

Then they circle through the store and exit on the left.

The old Bunch of Grapes had its cash registers on a desk right inside the right hand door.

“Your prime real estate in a store is what’s in the front as you walk in, so we always had our best-sellers, hardcovers, right at the front. So all people had to do was come in, grab a best-seller, check it out and leave,” said Ms. Braasch.

“That layout didn’t really encourage them to wander through the store. I needed to get people to move back in the store, at least a little, in order to check out. So people familiar with the old layout will notice the cash register isn’t where it used to be. But there was a very calculated reason for moving it.”

Other changes also reflect more savvy marketing.

“I put some chairs in, because the longer somebody stays in your store the greater the chance they will buy something,” she said.

“We’ve expanded the children’s section, because it is the fastest-growing sector of book selling right now, particularly hardcover books.

“I’ve tried to open up the store — no high shelves down the middle — so everyone can see directly to the stairs to the second floor now. A lot of people said they never knew we had a second floor.

“We’ve expanded our sidelines, which are book-related gifts, greeting cards, journals, that kind of thing. We’ve taken out our little magazine room and put magazines on the stairs.”

Even the store logo has changed, albeit subtly. The old one — simply a bunch of grapes — might as well have signified a winery as a book store. The new one will still feature grapes, but also a book.

Paco Underhill’s Science of Shopping was by no means the only counsel Ms. Braasch took in refurbishing the Bunch of Grapes.

“I talked to anybody and everybody I could. On the street, everywhere, and there were some who said they did not want me to change a thing,” she said.

However, change had to come, for several reasons. First, the store was completely gutted by the fire. There were no shelves, carpet, ceiling, and some things simply cannot be replicated.

Second, it’s a tough economy now. The stock simply cannot be as big as it once was, although there is plenty of room to expand.

Third, the book business is fast changing. People can go to Amazon now. They can read books on Kindle.

Ms. Braasch, though, was at pains to balance change and continuity. She tried to respect the architecture. The business has retained or rehired many of the former staff.

And she resisted the push toward the generic book shop prescriptions of big suppliers.

“You know, there are wholesalers who offer a service that will come in and measure your linear shelf feet and tell you how many books you need, and what your opening order should be — a generic bookstore opening order,” she said.

“And that might be great if you live in some other places. But Vineyard readers are very particular.

“There is a lore and a mystery to Martha’s Vineyard. I have lived all over this country; I’ve never lived anywhere like this. There is such a concentration of wonderful writers. People here are very well read.

“So what we did well — our selection of books, and the fact that we highlight Vineyard authors and Vineyard stories — what we’ve always been known for — that will remain the same.”

To help provide that continuity, Ms. Braasch hired the woman who did most to make the Bunch what it is, former owner Ann Nelson, as a consultant.

“She’s been so generous with her time. She’s in and out almost daily. She’s done everything from helping to shelve books to painting the bannisters,” she said.

“I’m really fortunate in that I’m surrounded by people who do their jobs really well. Dailis Merrill, the book buyer, has been here 20 years. Katherine Fergason, the store manager and children’s book buyer, has been here three years.

“We have five people who have been with me for the past year, through the fire, the opening of the little store. They never left, the key people: the book buyer, the store manager, the shipping guy and the frontline bookseller.

“So, I could have done that, had a generic wholesaler. But I didn’t need that. Katherine and Dailis, they’ve been working on a list since, really, since we re-opened in October, in the temporary store.

“To have someone who knows what sells here and what people want to read, who has established a reputation for the place as a bookstore that has amazing depth and breadth of selection — given how small and seasonal we are — is something I could not have duplicated.”

Other things that will remain constant are the emphasis on Island books and the big maritime section.

The regular readings by authors also will continue.

Tomorrow’s soft opening will begin at 9 a.m. The grand opening will be on the anniversary of the fire, July 4, and it will be a feast for the literate.

“On Friday night, July 3, David Kinney, the author of The Big One — Spielberg has optioned the rights — will kick off the weekend,” she said, adding:

“Saturday is not set yet, but that will be a full day of signings by many different authors, as part of the grand opening party. We’ll have about five at a time. Every hour it will change. So it’s a pretty intensive line up.

“And there will be face painting and balloons for children, and cupcakes and a raffle of book baskets donated by publishing companies. The first 50 people in will get a T-shirt with the new logo.”

Was she ever concerned about meeting the July 4 deadline for reopening?

“I never worried we wouldn’t make it by the anniversary of the fire, but our soft opening date has slid a bit. We thought we’d be open by potentially April. Then May. Then definitely Memorial Day and then definitely by the first weekend in June.

“So this is a little later than we had hoped. Having said that, had it not been for the builders, it wouldn’t have happened as quickly as it did,” she said.

“There are some things I should have done sooner, that I had no idea would take so long.”

Such as?

“Getting a sign ordered. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s not so big. We may have to use the old sign.

“But maybe it would not be a bad thing to use the old one till the new sign’s ready. It may be the new sign goes up right before the grand opening.

“Maybe that will show the continuity. That things really aren’t so different,” said Ms. Braasch.