It's a Bar, It's a Bookstore: BookBar Opened in Berkeley

BookBar [Photo: Adam Larkey]
On Memorial Day, Nicole Sullivan opened the doors to BookBar, a bookstore and bar located at 4280 Tennyson Street, in a space that previously housed another bookstore, minus the bar part. The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day with the hope of attracting patrons from the neighborhood and those seeking a place to summon their book clubs.

Sullivan dreamt of a gathering space for those who love reading and she wanted to create an atmosphere where they would feel at home. That is how this highly-curated bookstore found its food and beverage wing. BookBar features an inventory of brand new books, focused on those that are most current and mostly highly regarded by bookworms everywhere. And there's a small menu of food and drinks available to go along with the good reads.

The decor is simple featuring exposed brick, high wooden ceilings, dark book shelves and couches, and warm-colored wood floors. A long bar sits at the right of the space with a small lounge space where an accordion door will be added to bring a small indoor-outdoor area. Several tables with tops made from recycled wine crates provide additional seating. To the left of the space is a small area where couches and chairs are available for those wanting to read or browse books and just past that are several rows of book shelves.

Grid View

The centerpiece of the space, one you can see from the door standing as a dividing point between the book area and the bar area is a book bar, a big table made out of a puzzle of books that serves as the checkout counter. "I saw a picture online of this when I first wanted to open a book bar and I printed it out," Sullivan remembered. "I showed it to a few people who declined to take on the project, but our neighbors up the street, Lapis Gallery, were up for the task," she added.

The food selection is focused on hors d'oeuvres. The menu itself is organized like a book with a table of contents, prologue, and so on. Corvus Coffee and Teatulia teas will be served for those ready for a warm caffeinated drink. There are sides like cheese and charcuterie plates, crostini, four different kinds of pizzettas, and tea sandwiches. A kids menu is also available along with desserts from La Petite Patisserie in Arvada, the Wooden Spoon, and Glaze Baum Cake Shoppe.

Grid View

There is a wine list that features twelve options with whites, reds, and rosés all being represented and wines coming all the way from New Zealand or from right here in Colorado. There are also several Colorado craft beers: on tap, guests will find Denver Beer Company's kefir lime wheat and Our Mutual Fried IPAs. Bottles and cans from other Colorado brewers will also be available.

· Coming Attractions: BookBar [EDen]
· BookBar [Official Website]