By Ashley Polite - July 29th, 2022
We all love a good read, and with endless stories and captivating generes, book stores will always remain a sanctuary full of fantasy, imagination, history, and nostalgia. Jubilee Bookstore, located inside of Kupcakerie, offers a wide variety of new and used books ranging from adult non-fiction to young adult and children's novels.
What a brilliant idea to have a bookstore inside of a bakery cafe, making it accessible to every customer that visits, in hopes of enjoying a hot cup of coffee, a cupcake, and a great mystery book.
After providing us with so many stories, it's only right that she shares her own.
This is Dana, the joy behind Jubilee:
"I grew up reading a lot and going to libraries. My favorite way to learn something was through stories. Anytime I travel, I look for local bookstores to visit. My favorite topics to read about are mental health and memoirs are my favorite genre. I've started to branch out more recently and my current favorite authors are Elizabeth Acevedo (YA-young adult books), Akwaeke Emezi (artistic and heavy), and Taylor Jenkins Reid (gossipy, page turner, beach reads).
I never imagined opening my own bookstore. Instead, when I moved to the tri-cities area 7 years ago, I started searching for a local bookstore. To my disappointment, all my Google searches were taking me to the airport! My initial instinct was to complain about this and make up reasons why people didn't want to build bookstores on this side of town. Then I realized that I was 'people', and if this was what I wanted for my community then I was the one who needed to make it happen. As I began developing my business plan I sought out the advice and mentorship of Henry at Kupcakerie. I had participated in a few activities at Kupcakerie and Henry was always there and so friendly and approachable. I loved the presence Kupcakerie had in the community and wanted Jubilee to be more of a community asset than just a bookstore. As it became clear that I would need to have an operating business for 2 years before I'd be able to be considered for business loans, Henry offered the option of selling the books through Kupcakerie. This was not my original plan, but as I slept on the idea, it began to make more and more sense. On November 15, 2020 we set up shop inside Kupcakerie. It has been well received and we have a steady stream of business. This has confirmed my belief that the community wants a bookstore just as much as I do :) While I have plans of opening my own store front in the future, the minishop at Kupcakerie is intended to be a permanent fixture.
The goal of Jubilee Bookshop is to make book ownership accessible to everyone in the community. To me, accessibility means making it convenient, affordable, and relatable. The one request Henry and Kascha had was that the books represented the community. We were 100% on the same page. As an elementary school teacher in College Park, I can see the immediate impact representation has when my students are reading books about characters who look like them. As a parent of a biracial child, it was also important for me to find books that will educate others about experiences that may be different than their own. As a used book seller, it can be very difficult to find books that align with my mission, but it is also a lot of fun. The highlight of my week is always when I stop by to collect the tags and see which book titles people bought. It's the connection to the community for me :)"