TBR Books opened in early April at 987 W. Foothill Blvd., Suite 104, in Claremont, Calif., posting on Instagram: "We couldn't have asked for a more perfect Grand Opening! 500 of you showed up to celebrate our dream of owning an indie book store with us! Thank you doesn’t even feel good enough, we appreciate you all so so much!!"
Co-owners and sisters Lolli Rigor and Liana Colon "are living every bookworm's dream: transforming their vision for a bookstore from fantasy to nonfiction," the Courier reported. The shop's primary focus is romance novels, and it also sells science fiction and general fiction, children's books, biographies, coloring books, and queer and YA titles. The 600-square-foot space offers seating and a children's reading area. The owners plan to host community book clubs and family reading sessions.
"There will be something here for everyone no matter what you read," said Colon. "The only thing we don't have is cookbooks."
A 2023 trip to Book Bonanza in Grapevine, Tex., served as the sisters' initial inspiration, the Courier noted, adding that with no experience running a business, they were hesitant until another local entrepreneur encouraged them. "We were talking to Claudia [Martinez] at Black Penny Thrift and we were telling her about our idea, we've always wanted to open our own business, and she was just like, 'Do it. Just do it,' " Colon said. Now TBR Books is located near the thrift shop. "I love it," Martinez said. "I'm not a competitor. I just want people to succeed."
Rigor and Colon signed a five-year lease in February and opened two months later. "We know the value of a good, curated bookstore," Colon noted. "I mean, we would go to Culver City, we would drive to Temecula" to visit other bookstores "and that never even fazed us. We know the value of curating and getting the word out there to people not just in Claremont, but within the surrounding cities, probably within an hour drive, and they will drive. Like the grand opening, we had people from the high desert from Long Beach, and Santa Ana."
Rigor is an administrative assistant for alumni engagement at Pomona College, while Colon is an accountant for Planned Parenthood. "This is something we know, it's something we're passionate about," Colon said. "We still have our W-2 jobs. If we're going to do something that's going to be extra, we want to do something that we're passionate about and that we enjoy and that we're enthusiastic to do the work for free."