In Several Southern States, Bookstores Double As The Neighborhood Bar

Cozy bookstores that double as local bars combine everything Southerners love about just-messy-enough spaces filled with the smell of inked paper and the hangout you can tuck into for a pint of beer or glass of Malbec. They’re buzzy and quiet all at once, plus you can go home with a new book to read. 

This is something I discovered on a recent trip to Atlanta, where I found Lucian Books and Wine was a haven for me. Their refined dining area is surrounded by shelves of well-curated books for sale, and the wine list is deep. I bought a signed copy of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan while sipping a glass of Cabernet Franc that tasted like her relationship with Sean Brock from the memoir, thorny, but sweet.

But they aren’t the only ones capitalizing on our love of books and imbibing. Here are a handful of stores serving books and booze across the South.

North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina, draws art enthusiasts from all over the globe and Battery Park Book Exchange adds to the town’s allure with its “browsing beverages.” Guests sip wines and Champagnes with names like "The Secret Garden" and "Death in the Afternoon" as they peruse the books. It’s like going to a great party with all the best beverages and thoughtful literature as the centerpiece.

Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, North Carolina, serves as a hub in many ways, and like other bookstore bars, it operates as “third place” garnering place attachment for community members. There's books, beverages, and space for any group who wishes to gather. 

“Scuppernong is a safe haven specific to Greensboro, where, yes, you can browse books and get refills on coffee or wine, but it's also a gathering space for groups," explains Mackenzie Filson, a self-proclaimed "booktender" (i.e. bookseller and bartender). "People come to commiserate, regroup, or go on first dates, which I loved to eavesdrop on while pretending to clean glasses/restock books).”

South Carolina

Just one state away in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Corks, Cooks, & Books is equal parts restaurant, wine bar, and bookstore. The concept leans on Shonali Thomas’ experience cooking and catering and Mindy Kuhn’s publishing prowess. The eclectic mix of books ranges from New York Times bestsellers to indie publishing titles. Wine tastings, book club gatherings, book signings, and live music events draw community members in while creations like Thomas’ butter candles served with homemade bread keep them coming back. 

“People new to the area who haven't met friends yet will come in by themselves and look timid in the beginning. By the time they leave, they’ve connected with a group or found an event [to help them integrate into the community],” Kuhn says.

Alabama

A Fairhope, Alabama, staple since 1968, Page & Palate opened the Book Cellar downstairs to combine the community’s love of books and a public space where you can enjoy wine, beer, and craft cocktails with a literary twist such as "Tequila Mockingbird," "Rum Forrest Rum," and "Are You There God? It's Me Margarita." There are also "Fancy Nancys" (their take on the Shirley Temple) and "Pete the Cats" (Roy Rogers, anyone?) for the kiddos.

They like to highlight local authors with a large section, and book signings to introduce readers to new titles. But it’s not all about the books and booze. “It's a gathering place," explains Leigh Buckley, the bookstore manager. "We have people who come to celebrate babies and birthdays, some just need company, some get their morning coffee here, some bring their computers and work. There are no strangers here. Everybody helps everybody, and if somebody's new, they get introduced."

And bonus, there’s an Airbnb upstairs—who wouldn’t love to spend a weekend over a bookstore bar?

Texas

Kaye Askins opened Best Little Wine & Book shop in Lockhart, Texas, in 2021 in a 700-square-foot 1945 house. “It’s a bright, warm space," she says. "It’s more like coming into someone's home than going out to a bar." She stocks the shelves with retail beer and wine with handwritten tags telling the story behind the bottles, books focused on food, beverage, and travel culture, and a bar for wine tasting and conversations.

“A lot of people who come here, pick a book off the shelf, grab a bottle of wine to open, and start talking about what they're reading, sharing their wine with each other—it's just a really beautiful thing,” she adds.

Any given day, you’ll find the door wide open, and likely Chicken—the shop dog and highest-paid employee—greeting guests alongside Askins. There are wine classes offered every month, a nook with a comfy recliner, and community gatherings like a postpartum doula event and parent mixer nights. On Wednesday nights, it’s Mr. Carter’s Smooth Blues Corner. Local Army veteran Joe Carter bonded with Askins over music, and she invited him to curate his own playlist. What started as a joke turned into Askins's busiest night, an event the local community looks forward to weekly.  

Three hours north in Dallas, The Wild Detectives represents the decade-long friendship between Javier García del Moral and Paco Vique. Events, such as their 2016 TEDx Talk “Why Did We Add a Bar to our Bookstore?” and their 2017 #LitBait campaign to promote reading that garnered two Lions in Cannes and a Facebook Global Award, have brought attention, as well as patrons, to the establishment.

“We hope by entering the bookstore and being exposed to the books, to the bar, to the programming, to specific authors, to events, questions will be triggered that lead to conversations that continue beyond our space," Javier continues.

Recognizing the World Wide Web can distract and detract from meaningful conversation, Javier and Paco started a different www, Weekends Without Wifi. Fridays at 5 p.m. until Sunday night the Wifi is off at The Wild Detectives. Rather than walking around with AirPods in or mindlessly scrolling social media, Javier and Paco hope people will hang out, disconnect from the online world, flirt, imagine possibilities, and meet other interesting people.