Around Indies

Bookstore and Wine Bar to Open in Greensboro

Longtime booksellers Greg Grieve and Brian Lampkin have announced plans to open Scuppernong Books, a general bookstore with a coffee and wine bar, next February in Greensboro, North Carolina. The wine bar, called “The Grapes of Wrath,” will feature a rotating selection of keg wines.

“We just felt we needed to add something to the mixture to make it work as a business,” Lampkin told the News & Record. “We also needed a destination; we wanted to make it a place where people come hang out.”

The 3,200-square-foot first-floor bookstore will feature an inventory of 80 percent new books, including literature, bestsellers, classics, and a standalone children’s section. It will also have a dedicated events space, where Grieve and Lampkin hope to host a full schedule of author appearances.

Book Rack Turns Coffee Shop

HugoBooks’ The Book Rack in Newburyport, Massachusetts, is being converted into a coffee shop, the Newburyport Daily News reported. Much of the space will be leased to a vendor who plans to open the Atomic Café, which will serve a variety of coffee, sandwiches, and snacks. A portion of the store will remain dedicated to books.

The Atomic Café will be operative in about six weeks in about 70 percent of the bookstore’s current space. “We’ll still have books, but there won’t be nearly as many,” bookstore co-owner John Hugo told the paper.