Ink Fish Books, a new and used bookstore specializing in cookbooks and food culture, will open in Warren, R.I., this month, Bookselling This Week reported.
In addition to cookbooks and food-related titles, owner Lisa Valentino will carry locally made food products and cooking tools, as well as some genre titles and audiobooks. In the weeks and months ahead, Valentino plans to start hosting book clubs, set up a store loyalty program and allow customers to trade in their used books.
"Bookstores tie a community together by offering a space to share the ritual of browsing, thinking, and communicating," Valentino told BTW. Prior to entering the bookselling industry, Valentino worked in the newspaper business for some 30 years. "I want to provide that space to find new ideas and meet new thinkers through books, local products and events."
Valentino began the store-opening process back in February. To help her along the way, she's relied on interviews with booksellers and other small business owners, taken part in ABA seminars and attended BookExpo in May. In the last two months or so, she added, "everything has really come together."