Books, coffee, pastries, lunch: Johnson County bookstore and more is now open
For those in the metro looking for a new place to hang, Kimberly Hoppock would like to submit a shopping district for your consideration: downtown Mission.
“There’s lots of Gen Z young professionals,” Hoppock said. “This area has so many cool people. A lot of these businesses are locally owned.”
The stretch of Johnson Drive is home to bustling businesses like cocktail bar The Primrose, Mission: Board Games, Urban Prairie Coffee and a completely ordinary convenience store called Common Tiger (definitely not a secret club. Nothing to see here).
But its newest spot on the shopping district’s roster is Hoppock’s own concept. The Book Club opened Saturday . It’s part-lunch spot, part-coffee shop, part-bookstore.
The former Paulie D’s Pizza space at 5735 Johnson Drive now offers espresso from Valor Coffee in Atlanta and BookTok’s most popular titles, plus some classics.
Hoppock, who opened the space with husband Matthew, said the neighborhood has been overwhelmingly excited for the space.
After the not-so-soft launch Saturday, her team had to take a day to restock.
“We were expecting a crowd. It was like an army,” she said, laughing. “But it was so nice to be supported by everybody and the community.”
With the goal of keeping it open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, Hoppock hopes it will be a popular place for folks to hang after work. She’s already scheming up some community events to keep neighbors connected: junk journaling nights, coffee cupping events and whatever else the team can dream up.
Another one of her goals was to make the shop a place for customers to come together and destress.
“I think there’s this need to connect with other people right now,” she said. “A lot of people are saying, ‘I’ve been wanting to do something like this because I feel alone.’ … People have been really craving places like this.”
The Book Club was originally slated to open earlier this year, but Hoppock said it’s been a busy season for her husband, who’s also an immigration attorney.
The spot plans to soon begin serving wine. Hoppock didn’t want to encroach upon offerings at the surrounding breweries or cocktail bars, but she feels like wine pairs well with books. (It’s a quintessential book club drink, afterall.)
The Book Club’s coffee menu contains all the drinks one would expect: lattes, capuccinos, chai, matcha, etc. They’re made with housemade syrups.
For lunch: a Southwest chicken wrap, chicken salad croissant, caprese panini and more. Pastries are also available and are made in-house.
Next door, Hoppock’s other concept — Truly Madly Depot — sells books, cards, mugs and other gift items.
In Leawood, another bookstore celebrated its opening this weekend. Romance bookstore Smitten Booktique is now open in Park Place at 11531 Ash St.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.