[4] Shanbhag started Premier Bookshop in the city in 1971 at the site of a burned-down clothing store.
The book store, which was located in the city's Church Street near M. G. Road, closed down in 2009, unable to keep up with the increase in rents in the region.
[1] At the time of its closure the bookstore had a collection of over 500,000 books, most of which were disposed of at steep discounts and others donated to local libraries.
[6] Some of his patrons included historian Ramachandra Guha, actor Kamal Haasan, playwright Girish Karnad, historian Janaki Nair, author U. R. Ananthamurthy, restaurateur Prem Koshy and politician George Fernandes.
[1][7] Shanbhag was married and had a daughter, and lived in the Basaveshwaranagar neighborhood in West Bangalore.