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| The Bookshop's future home. | |
The Bookshop in East Nashville, Tenn., will be moving later this year from its current location on West Eastland Ave. to 824 Meridian St. in the city's McFerrin Park neighborhood. Owner Joelle Herr shared the news on the store's social media, noting that the "new location is a mere mile away from where we are now.... We're simply bursting at the seams of our 550 square feet. Our new location will be more than THREE times the size, which will allow us to carry so much more. Our thoughtful curation will remain the same--we'll just have more of it. Plus, there will be room for larger events and... drum roll, please... we'll have a coffee nook AND a nearly 600-square foot front porch for fair-weather lingering."
Herr added that since opening The Bookshop in 2016, "I have saved and planned and saved some more, with hopes that one day I might have the opportunity to purchase a building for the shop." The new space will need a full buildout inside, including walls, plumbing, electricity, and more. She is hoping to open before the end of the year.
"Friends, YOU are also a big factor in how we were able to take this leap, through your thoughtful, intentional choice to shop with us," Herr added. "And your continued support is absolutely essential to our future success. This purchase is a huge, gulp-inducing investment (and risk!) for this small-business owner--I admit I've had some tosses and turns over the scariness of it. But I have such a clear vision of what we're going to create. It's going to be amazing, and I cannot wait to welcome you into it."
Herr also gave a shoutout to "our amazing booksellers, who've kept mum on this news for weeks, and whose enthusiasm has been so fun to witness. Bronte, Ashley, Corrie, and Mat--I'm so thankful for you!"
As news of the move spread, Herr told Nashville Scene that "the response to our announcement this morning has been overwhelming in the very best of ways, and the move feels somehow even more real now that others know about it.... I'm looking forward to sharing updates and sneak peeks over the coming months of the buildout--and can't wait for the day we can welcome everyone into our expanded book lovers' haven on Meridian Street."