Binding Agents, a culinary bookstore featuring cookbooks and food-related literature for all ages, is coming to Philadelphia, Pa., this fall, and owner Catie Gainor has launched an Indiegogo campaign in advance of the store's opening.
The campaign has a fundraising goal of $30,000, which Gainor will put to use primarily filling out the bookstore's opening inventory. So far, Gainor has raised just shy of $16,500 and has roughly three weeks to go. The campaign's backer perks include stickers, store-branded merchandise, a meal plan custom made by Gainor, and the opportunity to curate a window display once the shop opens.
Binding Agents is located at 908 Christian St., in Philadelphia's 9th St. Italian Market, which Gainor described as "South Philly's culinary epicenter." Gainor has purchased the building and invested extensively in modernizing and renovating it; she plans to be there "for the long haul."
Alongside cookbooks, there will be culinary memoirs and food-related fiction for children and adults, as well as gifts, utensils, and cookware. Gainor plans to host cookbook clubs and other events that help connect customers with "cooks, authors, and the likeminded people who are and love both."
Prior to founding Binding Agents, Gainor worked in hospitality, retail, event production, the arts, and PR/communications, and she described herself as an enthusiastic home cook and avid reader. Like many lifelong readers, she said, "I'd imagined having my own bookstore on and off since I was a kid. I never took the idea seriously until the thought of a shop with a culinary focus a couple years ago."
Gainor realized it was something she wanted in her city after visiting and following other cookbook shops around the country. It immediately felt "like something Philly, an amazing food town at the height of its powers, needs." Gainor remarked that the city has been without a dedicated cookbook store since 2017, when the Cook Book Stall in Reading Terminal Market closed. She added that in many ways the shop is also a tribute to her mother, who passed away in 2021 and was a "consummate hostess and great cook."
In advance of the store's October opening, Gainor held a preview event over the weekend during the Philly Bookstore Crawl. The event featured snacks, drinks, and bingo cards to be used when the bookstore fully opens. Customers will be able to submit each bingo they get for a chance to win prizes and discounts.