Society House Books and Cafe will open in Valdosta, Ga., this fall, the Valdosta Daily Times reported.
The bookstore and coffee shop will span multiple floors in an historic building at 132 N. Patterson St., with the bookstore and cafe on the first floor and a reading space and events space above. The bookstore will carry a selection of general-interest titles for all ages, along with a variety of gifts, and the cafe will serve coffee, espresso drinks, bottled beverages, and a selection of pastries. Community members will be able to rent the bookstore's event spaces for dinners, bridal and baby showers, receptions, book clubs, and more.
When owners James and Amanda Davis bought the building, they intended to fix it up and sell it. But, Amanda Davis told the Valdosta Daily Times, they "fell in love with the building" and decided to "invest in downtown."
The building had previously housed a restaurant, and the biggest obstacles were getting rid of the kitchen equipment and having the space tested for safety. At the same time, neither of the owners had experience running a bricks-and-mortar business, let alone an independent bookstore, and they had a lot to turn. The most fun parts, Amanda Davis noted, have been designing the building's interior and curating the offerings.
"I love interior design," she remarked. "Trying to envision how this space is going to flow has been great."
The owners are aiming for an October opening.