A new bookstore in Rolla is hoping a stiff drink and a well-curated selection of books can create a community and keep a local store open in a small town in a world dominated by online book sales.
In recent years, Rolla lost its longtime independent bookstore and even its secondhand bookseller. Jamie Cheek saw that as an opportunity to try something new: a combination bookstore and bar.
"We're competing not just with businesses here, but we're competing with the internet. We're competing with the big-box stores," Cheek said. "And so having that unique piece is what gets people in the door to buy your books and have your experience."
Cheek and her husband, who moved to Rolla four years ago, did market research on what would keep an independent bookstore open. The answer was a hybrid concept: part bookstore, part bar, part restaurant, part "third space" for book clubs, meetings and gatherings.
"I recently rediscovered my love for reading," Cheek said. "We really wanted to create a specialized, curated, community-positive, femme-forward space. And so we said, 'Why not us?'"
Hybrid bookstores have been popping up lately, sometimes pairing with coffee shops, gaming stores or even florists. Bookmark This Bar's location on Pine Street includes a loft that is also a short-term, overnight rental.
Cheek experimented with pop-up events in recent months to test the concept and saw enough enthusiasm to open the store.
Bookmark This Bar will sell you a book and a literary-themed cocktail, like "The Plot Thickens" - a bourbon and peach schnapps drink, or "The Meet Cute" - a vodka-based beverage with strawberry syrup and lime juice.
Kim Morgan of Rolla came to check out the grand opening and said the space is badly needed.
"Readers haven't had a place to go. And for those of us that love to turn the paper, that would be me, this is perfect," she said. "Just feeling welcomed, like when we came in the door, feeling like this is your space where you can hang out – it's great."
Online bookstores and digital library loans are fine, said grand opening customer Tricia Skyles, but they don't meet all of a reader's needs.
"We've become these isolated communities of one where we're siloed in our, in our little homes. And while that's great for the introvert in all of us, it's not great for our community and our connection," Skyles said.
Bookmark this Bar is focusing on a few genres of literature - romance, fantasy, and psychological thrillers. Plus a section for classics and local authors. Cheek also has two book clubs scheduled to meet there and hopes to add more.
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