Surge of bookstores opening in KC area: Two open this month within a couple blocks
Just a few months ago, Erin Olivia was selling dresses and sweaters at 7942 Santa Fe Drive.
Her downtown Overland Park space has the same eggshell-colored walls, same dried floral arrangements, but her racks of clothing have been replaced with tall bookshelves.
The Pretty Posy reopened last weekend after closing in November, transforming from a clothing boutique into a “boutique” bookshop.
“The reason I call it a ‘boutique’ is because we aren’t Barnes & Noble, so we can’t carry everything,” she said. “We have all genres, but they’re definitely geared toward women.”
The shop’s largest sections are kids’ books, romance and fantasy. It’s mostly new and in-demand novels, not a lot of classics.
The old dressing rooms have been repurposed into “book nooks,” where kids can cozy up with their favorite story.
After more than two successful years, Olivia said she’d begun to feel burned out with fashion. In the weeks leading up to the reopening, customers were passing Olivia’s pink and yellow window art and curiously peeking in.
On opening weekend, Olivia said, the store was swamped. People there to buy books, people wanting to work there, “the whole gamut.”
“It was packed. … It’s been nuts,” she said. “Instagram has been blowing up.”
Just a couple streets over, still in downtown Overland Park, is yet another newly opened bookstore. Monstera’s Books, which also sells plants, just celebrated its opening a couple weeks ago.
Funny, Olivia said. There were no bookshops in downtown Overland Park, and then two women opened separate ones in the same month.
Think the two shop owners have some sort of rivalry? Think again, Olivia said. The two have been supportive of each other’s openings, visiting each other and bringing over welcome gifts and books.
“This is supposed to be a fun thing,” she said. “There’s a lot of people who came in and went and bought a book from her and a book from me, too.”
The Pretty Posy announced Monstera’s opening a few weeks ago with an Instagram post:
“What’s better than one woman-run bookshop in DOP … TWO!! Meet our bookshop bestie.”
And, it seems, independent book sellers are thriving.
Bookstore sales fell nearly 30% in 2020, according to Publishers Weekly. But in 2022, The New York Times reported that a post-pandemic surge is proving them profitable again. Hundreds of new bookstores began to open after lock downs let up.
Olivia has seen the same trend, and says extra reading time over the pandemic plus “BookTok” — a community of readers on TikTok — has a role to play in the renewed interest in bookstores.
“I think now since people have gotten back into reading, now people are talking about reading,” she said. “I call it, ‘bonding over books.’”
If that’s a factor, the Kansas City metro is certainly reaping the benefits of “book bonding.”
In October, a teen opened Seven Stories bookshop in downtown Shawnee at 11109 Johnson Drive. A month later, a romance bookstore called Under The Cover opened at 605 E. 31st St. Another bookstore, Trailhead Books, is on its way to Raytown in April at 10009 E. 63rd St.
The Pretty Posy also sells journals, cards, candles and other gift items. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 1:36 PM.