Homeward Books Collective in Tucson, Ariz., will move to a larger location next month, This Is Tucson reported.
Currently residing at 3054 N. 1st Ave. Unit 8, Homeward Books Collective will be relocating to 2921 E. Fort Lowell Blvd. The new space is roughly three times the size of the store's current home. Owners Lillie Watson, Megan Downey, Zach Gotschalk, and Manny Gales plan to make use of that extra room by expanding the store's offerings and creating a dedicated area for community events.
"We feel like we've outgrown this space," Watson told This Is Tucson. "We've gained a lot of traction here, we've hosted some pretty big events and pretty good markets and stuff. And I think we're just ready for something bigger."
The bookstore's last day in business in its current location will be July 19. The owners hope to have the new store up and running on August 15.
"We'll definitely have open mics, and we'll have markets every so often," Watson said. "I would really like for us to have an established schedule of events that people look forward to."
Before opening Homeward Books Collective in January 2025, Watson, Downey, Gotschalk, and Gales had all worked together at Bookmans in Tucson. They found they missed bookselling and were all interested in creating a community space for Tucson. Their store is worker-owned and sells new and used books, along with comics and board games.
"One of the big goals of moving is to really put our roots down somewhere, so that we can think about longer-term goals," Downey added. "Making the business stable, so that maybe we can onboard new people for the long-term longevity of Homeward."