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"Probably from year one or two of being an indie rep, I thought this is something I want to do," said Nissa Bagelman, a former sales rep who will be opening a bookstore, wine bar, and cafe in Portsmouth, N.H., later this fall.
Called Reedmor Books & Brews, the store will carry all new titles for adults. While there will be a "little bit of everything," Bagelman noted she will be "leaning more heavily" into genre fiction, specifically romance, fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries. She has no plans at this time to carry children's books, though she may include some YA titles eventually.
Reedmor will reside at 67 State St., in a space that formerly housed a restaurant. The overall square footage is about 1,740 square feet, which includes the kitchen and an office space. The bookstore and bar will be partly separated, each occupying its own room, but customers will be able to easily pass from one side to the other.
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| Reedmor owner Nissa Bagelman | |
For the bar, Bagelman has pursued a beer and wine license only, and plans to have a rotation of local craft beers on tap, along with cider and a variety of red and white wines. The cafe will serve tea, cold brew and drip coffee, and a food menu focused on tapas and upscale bar snacks. In addition, the bar and cafe side will house the store's nonfiction selection along with its sideline offerings, which will include lots of Reedmor-branded merchandise and "snarky" gift items.
The other room, meanwhile, will contain most of Reedmor's fiction selection and perhaps a smattering of sidelines. She added that she's very excited to receive feedback from the Portsmouth community, and "find out what books and sidelines and beers they want us to carry."
Asked about her event plans, Bagelman said she wants to focus on "community building around the space itself." While she's certainly not opposed to hosting author events, most of her plans involve things like literary trivia nights, poetry readings, and themed book clubs. There are also a number of breweries in the area that host book clubs, and she hopes to create partnerships with them and with other local businesses. She also intends to make the space available for rent for things like birthday parties, wedding rehearsal dinners, and other private events.
Expanding on what drove her to open an independent bookstore of her own, Bagelman explained that it's part of a family legacy. In 1928, her great-grandparents opened Reedmor Magazine Company in Center City in Philadelphia, Pa. Its specialty was rare, back-date magazines, and when Bagelman's grandfather inherited the store, he continued the practice of sleuthing for rare, hard-to-find titles. She remarked: "his collection was a marvel."
Over the next seven decades, the bookstore moved three times. Eventually it ceased operating as a retail storefront and became something of a warehouse while still pursuing rare and hard-to-find items. The bookstore closed completely in the early 2000s, but a "ghost sign" pointing the way to Reedmor still remains in Philadelphia.
That legacy, of course, is the reason Bagelman has decided to name the bookstore Reedmor (though she remarked that she is not sure why it was spelled that way in the first place). She's hired a graphic designer to reimagine the Reedmor logo, and she plans to "blast it everywhere." She'll sell apparel with the logo on it as well as glassware, barware, and mugs.
When she began exploring her options for opening a bookstore, Bagelman recalled, she initially thought of opening one in Somerville, Mass. However, she always wanted to have a bookstore and bar, and the process of getting a liquor license in Massachusetts "felt like a huge challenge." And while she was familiar with Portsmouth, the city had an established bookstore and bar of its own called Portsmouth Book & Bar, so that didn't seem feasible either. Then, Book & Bar closed in January, and Portsmouth suddenly had a niche to be filled.
People frequently drop by the store to ask about it, Bagelman reported, and community members are "excited to have another bookstore and bar." --Alex Mutter