Wild Fig Bookstore, which closed in February after three and a half years in business, will reopen at a new location in the North Limestone neighborhood of Lexington, Ky. Ace Weekly reported that in April, NoLi landlord Griffin VanMeter, with whom Ronald Davis and Crystal Wilkinson had previously discussed relocation, contacted them saying "his group had acquired more property that they could consider if they were still interested."
"When we closed, we weren't 100% certain that we even would reopen, and if so, we thought it would be two or three years down the line--at the earliest," said Wilkinson, adding that when the new offer appeared, they were definitely interested. "One of the primary draws to North Limestone is not just its increasing potential for retail, but the fact that so many of those who supported our old store actually lived in the N. Lime area--that was a crucial detail and deciding factor for us with considering a reopening so soon after our initial closing."
In its new incarnation, Wild Fig "will be more specific... to meet the needs of the current market," Ace Weekly noted. "It will cater more to patrons' specific interests and not be as much of a used-book catch-all, especially in the new, smaller location. In addition, Wild Fig will now carry more new books than old, and will expand upon the limited coffee service."
"The new store is going to be so drastically different than the old one that we weren't even wanting to reuse the same name," Wilkinson said. Ultimately, however, they chose to keep Wild Fig. "The mission also remains the same: to preserve, support and advance the local literary community," Ace Weekly wrote.
