Emrys Cove bookstore has opened at 111 Broadway in Fargo, N.Dak. InForum reported that the shop, which specializes in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, is "tucked above Moonrise Cafe in the former Spirit Room space. Inside Emrys Cove, candlesticks and lanterns glow against dark shelves decorated with glass-jar bookends and hanging vines, giving the bookstore a Gothic yet inviting feel. Rather than carrying vast shelves of bestsellers, the bookstore emphasizes hidden gems--spotlighting indie authors and lesser-known titles that often get lost in larger stores."
"Once you kind of start going down that rabbit hole, you realize there's a whole other world of indie authors," said owner Irelyn "Lyn" Johnson-Fowler. "I want people to find something new."
In addition to being a lifelong reader, Johnson-Fowler has worked in the coffee industry for nearly a decade, most recently at Moonrise Cafe. When the Spirit Room vacated the upstairs space last September, Moonrise Cafe owners Emily Driscoll and Alexa Eugenio "took over the upstairs area and offered Johnson-Fowler the opportunity to bring the bookstore to life. While the collection had initially been considered for a small section within the coffee shop itself, it evolved into an independent bookstore," InForum noted.
"We've been talking about trying to find a way to maybe start the bookstore in Moonrise, then when Emily and Alexa took over the space, they asked if I wanted it," Johnson-Fowler recalled. Though Emrys Cove is just beginning, she already has plans for further growth.