Photos and interview by Stacie Joy
It's a quick refresh for Book Club Bar on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B — a closure starting today for a few weeks of repairs and sprucing up, timed with the opening of a second location in Bushwick, which debuted on Troutman Street Saturday.
Co-owners and managers Erin Neary and Nat Esten gave me the rundown on the bookstore and cafe that debuted here in November 2019.
So, what can we expect with the renovation on Third Street?
Nat: The main highlight is a literal and figurative fresh coat of paint.
Erin: We're taking advantage of the fact that we had our second store opening this past weekend. We're moving our staff over there. They're going to be working in Bushwick temporarily, taking advantage of the time to do some repairs and maintenance, and also just kind of freshen up the look.
We've had six years of heavy foot traffic. We're very lucky. Lots of people in the door and just a lot of wear and tear. So some things need sprucing up.
Nat: It's been whack-a-mole fixing when things are always breaking. And this is a rare opportunity to kind of fix everything, or as much as we can.
We're expecting to reopen before the Memorial Day weekend, so we'll have just under three weeks to get everything done. And our landlord's been really cool and cooperative, and they've understood the goals here.
In terms of aesthetics, is anything to change?
Nat: We're going back and forth on the paint color. Out in Bushwick, we've really committed to a darkish green at the space. It's a lot of green, and because we both like to keep it consistent, we might mess around with it? But yeah, I think we're going to change the colors here a bit.
Erin: Yes, change the colors, add some new tables in the front. We're going to do some new signage and spruce up the bathrooms, which isn't really fun, but it's necessary.
We're going to add tiles and better drainage behind the bar, along with some waterproofing. And the front of the bar will be dark-stained wood.
Also, in terms of book sales, we've paused book pickups here for the month. We're still doing shipping. And anyone who has special-ordered a book that's due to arrive in the coming weeks, we will contact them and offer complimentary shipping. We'll get it to them, they just won't have access to come pick it up for a few weeks … unless they want to come to Bushwick!
Nat: We're going to have all the same functionality in Bushwick.
Erin: So, it's one website that'll show the stock at both locations. So, one of the two stores will hopefully have the book.
How will the Bushwick space be different from the East Village one?
Nat: We want to make it as similar as possible. It's a slightly larger space. The layout is a bit different. But it is comparable in how many people can comfortably fit for an event or how many people can sit in it on an average day.
Erin: There's space for a few more bookshelves, so the book inventory will be slightly bigger.
Nat: In the beginning, we're starting with the same exact drink menu and very similar book inventory, and then we're going to learn what the customers like and probably diverge a bit, but the goal is to keep it as similar as possible.
Erin: We have a fair number of people who travel from Bushwick to visit this store. So we know many people in the neighborhood are already familiar with us, which is nice.
Hopefully, some of these East Village people visit us out there, too, when they're out there. And it's a neighborhood without a general bookstore. There are a few other smaller specialty or used bookstores that we love and have been in contact with, but we want to do something a bit different.
Are there plans for additional expansion after this?
Nat: No. [laughs] No plans. It's been a year since we announced this. Actually, over a year ago, we announced that it was "coming soon." And the red tape has been big… But we're very happy now, and we love the space. We couldn't love the location more. So, yeah, in the end, it'll all be worth it!
