DADE CITY – The Book Shack, a Dade City business founded 45 years ago, recently opened in a space that is three times larger than its Seventh Street location.
Owner Kristy Kassabaum celebrated the store’s grand reopening Oct. 5 at 37838 Pasco Ave.
She bought the business from her husband’s grandmother, Jo Kassabaum, in September 2016. Kassabaum said she wanted to have a business of her own and that she was happy to keep the business in the family.
The move to a larger space was necessary, Kassabaum said, because she had outgrown the previous location. Kassabaum said she not only wanted more room for her products but she also wanted to offer more services to her customers.
In addition to purchasing new or used books, customers may enjoy coffee and treats provided by Farmhouse Brew & Bites, a business owned by Ronnie and Jenny Williams.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity … kind of like an Oxford Exchange kind of look,” Ronnie Williams said regarding Farmhouse Brew & Bites’ location in The Book Shack.
Williams was referring to a bookshop/coffee shop/restaurant called The Oxford Exchange in Tampa.
The Williamses also own The Farmhouse Market & Café at 14124 Fifth St. The company has been in business since 2018 “with a vision of supporting local farms & businesses to bring the best & freshest products,” according to its website.
The Book Shack customers can also admire and buy pieces of art created by local artists in a mini-version of Out of Our Hands Gallery, provided by Russ and Lee Taylor.
The gallery, located at 14245 Seventh St., will celebrate its sixth year in business on Nov. 11, Lee Taylor said. It “specializes in offering local, regional, original, handcrafted work from Florida fine artists. Everything is selected with great care, directly from the artists,” according to its website.
Art pieces displayed inside The Book Shack are priced at $50 and below. Lee Taylor said the purpose of having them there is to provide a mini introduction to customers of the things the gallery has to offer at its location, which is three blocks away.
Sixteen artists are providing samples of their work at the gallery and eight of them live in Dade City, Lee Taylor said.
Customers visiting The Book Shack’s new location on Pasco Avenue will be thrilled to see the comfortable places where they may sit and relax while looking at a book, drinking coffee, eating a treat or admiring an art piece, according to Kassabaum.
The previous location on Seventh Street had a limited seating area and the aisles were difficult to navigate if there were many people in the store, Kassabaum said. This isn’t the case at all with the new location.
Customers may purchase new or used books at the store or by placing an order at mybookshack.com.
Customers may also trade books they own in for other books offered at The Book Shack, Kassabaum said. A record is kept online of how much credit a customer has acquired through trading books at The Book Shack, Kassabaum said.
