Arcadia Books, Spring Green, Wis., "offers the average tome browser more than meets the eye. You really have to dig in to fully enjoy this little shop and café situated squarely on Spring Green's main drag," Madison magazine reported.
Owner James Bohnen, who is also a longtime director at the American Players Theatre and named the store after Tom Stoppard's play, paid tribute to his adopted hometown: "When I started coming here every summer, I thought, 'What a beautiful little town.' I would ask people, 'Why doesn't this town have a bookstore?' And for 40 years I assumed at some point I'd have a bookstore. This area feels like an arcadian, peaceful land. So [the name] felt like a nice combination of my two worlds."
Books are intrinsic in Bohnen's life, Madison noted, and Arcadia represents a way for him to give back: "Small independent stores create a kind of community where ideas are exchanged and people can talk about books.... and see each other. That sharing of ideas is something many, many people yearn for and miss it when it isn't there."
