Molly's Bookstore, a general-interest bookstore with titles for all ages, is coming to Melrose, Mass., next month, Patch.com reported.
Owners Andrea Iriarte Dent and Brett Reed are getting ready to open the bookstore at 667-669 Main Street. The bookstore will span two floors, with children's books and an event space on the lower level and adult books on the second level.
Iriarte Dent, who moved to the U.S. from Guatemala about 12 years ago, told Patch that she recalls being in a Latino reading group and having trouble finding books the group wanted to read. She plans to make sure that the store's inventory is diverse and that Molly's Bookstore fosters an inclusive environment through things like book clubs and other community events.
"The community needs a bookstore," she said of Melrose, where she and her husband have lived for the past four years. "This community is right for it."
Owning a bookstore has been a lifelong dream for Iriarte Dent, and she noted that due to limited commercial real estate options in downtown Melrose, she and Reed had to jump at the first opportunity: "We had to go from zero to hero at 200 miles an hour."
Renovations are underway and the owners are in the "final sprint" before opening, with a planned opening day of November 19. She added that the Melrose community has shown immense support for the bookstore.