Brookline Booksmith To Expand, Add Bistro Cafe

BROOKLINE, MA —After nearly 60 years in Coolidge Corner, the Brookline Booksmith is about to get a little bigger. In the fall, the book and gift store will become a cafe, too, as they expand into the Verizon store two doors down from their main store in Coolidge Corner.

Watch for breakfast items and, yes, coffee and alcoholic drinks at the café, which will serve breakfast and a number of small plates, they told town officials before Christmas.

"We've served this community for many, many decades," said Booksmith President Jed Smith, whose parents opened the store some 58 years ago. "We're proud to be a part of this community we have survived many, many competitive threats over time."

He said it was a David beating Goliath moment when Barnes And Nobel closed, after the Booksmith worked on connecting with the community, he said, bringing in authors and speakers. The new threat, he said, is Amazon, which has meant they've had to dig deep again.

"We think we can provide a place for social discourse a place for conversation," he said. "We see this as a bookstore first, but we do think this kind of offering with food and beverage will benefit further conversation."

The move comes on the heels of a successful six-week holiday pop up in the old Peet's Coffee space next to the Verizon shop. That experiment allowed the bookstore to branch out, offering more experiential events.

Making the space and special events available to the community in new ways is important to the vision of the expanded Booksmith, co-manager Lisa Gozashti told Patch at the time.

For the past 58 years the Brookline Booksmith has wooed young and old readers alike and is a staple of the neighborhood. It's morphed with the times, adding author talks and special events in conjunction with the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

The new 4,000 sq ft space will include a restaurant with a full liquor license. When the Booksmith came before the Board of Selectmen this month to get the license, they were met with a robust round of applause.

The restaurant space will also mean an expanded the children’s section and cookbook area, and a section devoted to the store’s Transnational Series.

The new restaurant space, which will serve a number of small plates and traditional cafe fare will have 45 seats and be open Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).