Seven-year-old Creekside Books & Coffee in the village of Skaneateles, N.Y., which has operated as two side-by-side stores, a bookstore and a coffeehouse, since its opening, is downsizing by turning into a true bookstore café. Next week it will begin the transition by closing on Monday and Tuesday (June 18 and 19) for renovations. The reopened store, which will continue to operate under the Creekside Books & Coffee name, will become a coffeehouse lined with books from the bookstore’s most popular sections: fiction, children’s, bargain, and some nonfiction.
“We at Creekside embrace change,” said owner Erika Davis. “Creekside is a successful business, and we believe uniting our product selection and the café will further enhance the special sense of place for our community and visitors.” She is working with the landlords, who include her mother, to find a compatible business to take over the bookstore space, which she plans to vacate by the end of July.
The store is currently running a clearance sale for a number of titles and sidelines that it will no longer carry, including toys. The new, combined store will continue to sell cards and stationery along with a selection of local products. The coffeehouse programming will also stay intact, noted Davis, and hold its popular Wednesday Trivia Nights, Thursday Open Mic Nights, and weekend music performances. It will also host author events, book clubs, and writing workshops. Nor has the coffeehouse menu changed. It will continue to serve breakfast, lunch, appetizers, baked goods, specialty drinks, and beer and wine.
