Following its debut last summer as an online store, Evening House Books has opened a bricks-and-mortar location in Buffalo, N.Y. Co-owners and seasoned booksellers Amanda Ylizal and John Chrostek have found a 150-square-foot space at 500 Washington St., in a building called the Lane on Main. Until the Covid-19 pandemic, the building contained offices; now it offers individual spaces for small retailers and local entrepreneurs.
Evening House Books carries predominantly new titles with a "very picky" selection of used books. Ylizal and Chrostek are both writers; Ylizal writes short stories and poems and Chrostek is a horror author. They both "love indie authors and indie presses," and they want to showcase writers who are not necessarily going to be on the bestseller lists or featured in Barnes & Noble displays.
Elaborating on the couple's curatorial interests, Ylizal said Chrostek loves genre, including fantasy, science fiction, and horror, while they love satire, magical realism, and anything that is "funky and experimental."
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| Evening House owners John Chrostek and Amanda Ylizal | |
Their plans for nonbook items include stickers, tote bags, and other "knickknacks," and Ylizal noted that they and Chrostek used to have a merchandise business that featured designs made with their own artwork. Eventually, the pair would like to start wholesaling that merch to other indie bookstores. And while Ylizal and Chrostek don't have any specific events lined up, there is a community space in the Lane on Main building where they would be able to host events.
Ylizal recalled that they got their first book job in 2014, at the university library of the Savannah College of Art and Design, where they and Chrostek attended college. Since then, Ylizal said, they've "pretty much worked in libraries and bookstores."
Ylizal and Chrostek worked at Powell's in Portland, Ore., from 2018 until 2020. During that time, they both worked the night shift, usually clocking in around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. They "loved the tranquil but liberatory experience" the late hours provided, and while Powell's no longer keeps those hours, and they can't sustainably offer similar hours at Evening House, the pair "still want to create the atmosphere of an after-hours book browsing experience, where anything feels possible."
Chrostek and Ylizal moved to Buffalo in July 2024 after spending a few years "adrift" following the pandemic. They wanted to open a bookstore of their own throughout that time, but as they moved from place to place trying to figure out the logistics, it never quite came together. Once they were in Buffalo--a city they fell in love with "immediately"--things fell into place rather quickly.
Though they launched the store on Bookshop.org in August, they had no specific timetable or plan for a bricks-and-mortar space to open in the spring. Ylizal and Chrostek would take one step toward opening, another would appear, and so on. Finding the space, Ylizal said, felt like "kismet." Had someone told them in December that they'd be opening a physical store so soon, Ylizal remarked, "I would have said there's no way."
Chrostek said the biggest surprise throughout the process has been the kindness and support from the people behind Lane on Main. "Amanda and I have had this dream of opening a physical storefront for years now, but it wasn't until we learned about the Lane that it felt like it could become a reality. They've been so welcoming and supportive since our first conversation and they genuinely want to see new small businesses flourish in Buffalo."
Ylizal added that the community response has been strong. People have been supportive, even offering to help the bookstore move in. The enthusiasm for the bookstore comes amid the general excitement for the revitalization of downtown Buffalo, in which many in the community are thoroughly invested.
For their part, Ylizal continued, "We are deeply excited to serve the people of Buffalo." --Alex Mutter