Homey feel, special events make Pierce County’s newest independent bookstore stand out
At the end of a strip mall in Lakewood sits the city’s newest (and only) independent bookstore.
Owner Shannon Grover has taken steps to make The Lakewood Bookstore feel homey. The back room of used books is meant to feel like a den, complete with a cozy electric fireplace, tall wooden shelves and stained-glass stickers that mute the overhead fluorescent lighting.
The Lakewood Bookstore celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting from the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber last month, although its doors have been open since the spring. A member of the 15th Pierce County Business Accelerator Program cohort, Grover said she started the business because she loves to read and wanted to bring an independent bookstore to the area.
It’s a much-needed addition.
As reported by The News Tribune in March, Barnes and Noble’s days at Lakewood Towne Center are numbered as it will be demolished to make way for hundreds of new apartments. Pierce County Library system’s busy Lakewood library branch at 6300 Wildaire Road SW closed in 2022 and is also slated for demolition while a new interim library is under construction.
“I grew up in Washington. I’m originally from Poulsbo. And when my husband retired, we decided we were going to stay here,” Grover said. “I thought this was the perfect opportunity, because I know this is a community of readers … [and] they want the books.”
As a military spouse, Grover said she moved often before her husband retired. Reading was a way she found community.
“One of the central things was every time we moved somewhere, you would find the readers and you’d find that community,” she said. “And I wanted to create that here.”
Filling The Lakewood Bookstore shelves are books of every size, color and genre. A history major, Grover joked, “There’s probably a lot of history books back there.” Most books cost $8-$9, with some kids books priced at 50 cents and newer or hardcover books priced more, she said.
Visitors are encouraged to read or play games in the shop. Upstairs Grover has set up a large table for games and book clubs. Next to a checkers set, a Washington-themed puzzle is already coming together.
An evening book club meets every month and Grover said she plans to revive a daytime club. On Aug. 23 she’s hosting an after-hours Silent Book Club complete with flashlights, to recapture the childhood fun of reading just one more chapter of your favorite book under the covers.
“Reading, it’s not even just an escape from all of it, it’s the addition. You get to explore new worlds without leaving anywhere. You get to find new connections, find new ways of phrasing things,” Grover said. “I know it’s a bookstore, I’m supposed to sell books, I get that concept. But I’m a reader and I want readers to come in and just do what they do.”
If you go
Address: 11017 Bridgeport Way SW, Lakewood
Hours: Open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Website: https://thelakewoodbookstore.com/home
This story was originally published July 29, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
