Vicky Kuharski, Staff Writer~
If used books and beer sound appealing, the newest shop opening in downtown Lynchburg will be exciting news.
Set to open mid-April, 9th Street Books and Brews will occupy the retail space of 56th Ninth Street, placing it next to Riverviews Art Space and in close proximity to Amazement Square.
The shop plans to buy and sell books and also offer create-your-own six-packs. Specialty beers will be sold with knowledgeable staff around to help make suggestions. The craft beer will largely come from local breweries and cideries, and a press release for 9th Street Books and Brews mentioned specifically that they will be offering Bold Rock and Devil’s Backbone.
The shop is working with an ABC-off license, meaning that all alcohol must be taken off premises before it is consumed. Owner Stephanie Atkinson said that the exception to this will be when the store does certain events. The plan is to do beer and wine tastings every other Friday, a list for which will be available on the bookstore’s website and social media pages. The store hopes to be able to offer prosecco eventually, as well.
The front half of the 1,600 square foot retail space will be dedicated solely to used books. There will be daily book buybacks and trade-ins. The store hopes to deal mostly in works of fiction, though they will be receptive to some specialty books. The store requests an appointment for those bringing in 20 or more books, and will offer store credit for those interested in trading. The store plans to keep these records on their end for up to two years.
In an interview with the News and Advance, Atkinson was quoted, “We want people to feel luxurious and learn what they like, talk about books and beer and treat it like a retail space.”
The first community book buyback is scheduled for March 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Atkinson said that the store’s website will have a “most wanted” list, updated as needed. Some books that are on the list for this event include “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead, “End of Watch” by Stephen King and “The Paris Wife” by Paula Mclain, just to name a few.
Book clubs will have an opportunity to reserve the retail space for meeting on Wednesdays and Thursdays. These clubs will receive 25% off used books for using 9th Street Books and Brews as their meeting place. The store always intends to offer weekly incentives to community members in the hopes of keeping inventory fresh.
This will be the fourth shop that owner Stephanie Atkinson and her husband Kevin Nemcovich have opened in the Lynchburg area. They also own Live Trendy or Die, The Conscious Mercantile and the Windblown Apothecary. They told the News and Advance that this will be their last retail venture for some time.
For more information on the opening of 9th Street Books and Brews, keep up with them on their website or social media pages.