Update: The Bookstore Bakery is now open. Their hours are 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.

After years of sending good vibes into the universe, it seems my wish for a downtown bookstore may be here soon.

“We were just going to open one day,” said Jonathan, who owns the new Bookstore Bakery on 145 W. Gay Street with his girlfriend Jessica. “We’ve been working on it for a while now. We had everything prepared, we were just waiting for the books.” Now the books are in and the couple is ready to ease into entrepreneurship.

“We are kind of causal,” he said. “We are not business people. We don’t know much about marketing and we don’t want anything too high-paced.”

What they do know are books – he’s an English major, sweets – she’s a Culinary Institute of America-trained pastry chef – and an opportunity when they see one.

What was originally just going to be a bakery, morphed into a hybrid endeavor after the couple noticed an abundance of bakeries and the Borough’s surprising lack of a bookstore. Of course, there is the library and the Second Reading used book store on Church Street but a new release, let-me-grab-a-coffee-and-browse-a-minute bookstore, that has been missing for a while now.

“We are trying to be a relaxed space. We don’t want to intimidate anybody,” said Jonathan.
Now the shelves are up and books are placed – all 400 of them. For now, they are mostly best-selling, new releases but more are coming. “I have space to put more books, but I didn’t want to fill it,” said Jonathan. “I am waiting to see what the town wants to read.” He’s also planning to work with the public library to help offer alternate options on their most requested titles.

Early days will also not have the pastries but there will be drip coffee and a supposedly solid homemade iced chai. There will eventually be a full grand opening with egg tarts and a vegan banana muffin you won’t know is vegan. For now, Jonathan and Jessica are ready to test the waters.

“We are going to put the sign out and we’re open,” said Jonathan. “Possibly as soon as this weekend.”

For additional information and grand opening details follow them on Instagram.  

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Originally published on Jan. 12, 2024

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