A bookstore, bar and cafe called Leopold's Books Bar Caffè will open on July 6 in Madison, Wis., the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Drawing inspiration from the London bookseller Daunt Books--owned by Barnes & Noble CEO and Waterstones managing director James Daunt--co-owner Sam Brown and his book manager, Molly Fish, have decided to organize the bookstore's roughly 5,500 titles not by genre but by country of origin.
Brown offered the country Greece as an example, noting that the section would include not only travel guides and language books but also Greek cookbooks, contemporary Greek fiction and even Lord Byron's poetry that was written while he was in Greece. "We think it's a really compelling way to browse books," he said.
Initially the cafe side of the business will have a limited menu mainly pastries, but as the store finds its footing, Leopold's will start offering charcuterie boards and a variety of small plates. The cafe and bookstore will open at 10 a.m. while bar service will begin at 2 p.m., and in the evenings the staff will set up bar stools at the coffee counter. The drinks menu will focus mainly on classic cocktails.
The store also draws inspiration from Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe and Busboys and Poets, which Brown visited often while attending college in Washington, D.C. Leopold's has been in the works for a while, but the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down construction.