Birdie Books is operating as a pop-up shop at 74 N. State St. in Uptown Westerville, Ohio, while plans continue for the permanent location of Birdie Books & Café at 86 N. State St. to open later this year. The Columbus Dispatch reported that owner Shari Russell said she has been waiting for city building permits to come through before construction begins, hopefully, in the spring. The city's planning commission gave final approval for the business March 25, 2021.
"Like everything right now, it's taking longer than originally planned, but that's okay. We think we're getting close," Russell said, adding that construction of the café and the renovation of the new space should take about nine months.
Noting that she opened the pop-up shop in late November, Russell said: "Online sales were just picking up, and this space became available, so we decided to do a mini version of what we're hoping to do in the Victorian house on the other side of Joe's Auto to get to know our neighbors and introduce what we're trying to do."
Krista Ankeny, who was hired as a pastry chef for the café and has been working at the temporary spot, said: "This has been fantastic. It has been really pleasant. This has been something different. It has been nice to be in a space and meet everyone. The customers are so excited to have a bookstore."
Russell also explained how she came up with the bookshop's name: "I have a background in plants and flowers. There's a bird flower in Australia that actually looks like a bird. And that's where our logo comes from. It's very much similar to that flower, called a bird flower. I thought it sounded nice."
Her late grandfather, David Persinger, was a bookseller when she was a child. "It always stuck in my mind how impressionable that was on me and how much I enjoyed going there," Russell said. "I started to think about opening a bookstore in Westerville."
Birdie Books has connected with Westerville City Schools and is also a partner with WeRISE for Greater Westerville's WeREAD 2022 project. "This business is rooted in the community," she said. "It's personally very important to me. It's more than just a brick-and-mortar bookstore. This really is a place for people to come together and share experiences and become stronger together."