Community Bookstore to Open Terrace Books

Next month, Community Bookstore, located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, will be opening a new store in the former Babbo’s Books. Terrace Books will function primarily as a used bookshop and will serve the neighborhood of Windsor Terrace, which lies roughly one mile southeast of Park Slope.

Community Bookstore co-owner Ezra Goldstein was approached by Leonora Stein, who opened Babbo’s six years ago and ran the store by herself. Stein, who recently accepted a job elsewhere, offered to sell Babbo’s to Goldstein and Community Bookstore co-owner Stephanie Valdez. Unsure of whether they had enough time and energy to run another store, Goldstein and Valdez were at first hesitant. However, after meeting with Stein, they decided to move ahead with the purchase. “I really just wanted to keep the bookstore there,” Goldstein explained.

Though the sale isn’t yet final, the owners have made a “handshake deal,” said Goldstein, who closed the former Babbo’s for a few weeks in order to do some cleaning and culling of stock, and to make minimal adjustments. Terrace Books’ opening celebration is tentatively planned for the first week of June.

Community Bookstore and Terrance Books will have some overlap, said Goldstein, including a bicycle service that will connect the two inventories. If a customer in one store wants a title that is on the other store’s shelf, a staff member can deliver it within a half hour.

Terrace Books will carry some new and special occasion titles as well as some gift items, but it will primarily sell used books.

“The reason Community Bookstore works is because it’s a curated collection,” said Goldstein. “We live in the neighborhood, and we know what our customers want. We’re hoping we’ll be able to tailor the used book selection the same way, and stock books that the community wants to read.”