A New York Times piece by the aptly named J.D. Biersdorfer (beer town resident) focuses on Books & Brews, the Indianapolis, Ind., bookstore and bar founded in 2014 by Jason Wuerfel. The operation is "a de facto community center, drawing crowds to trivia contests, fund-raisers, tabletop game gatherings and literary events... The stage in the back serves as a performance platform for music jams, open-mic nights and readings." The concept has worked so well that Wuerfel has franchised the business and it now has eight other locations in central Indiana.
"The fundamental flaw of the bookstore is that it's designed to be quiet and not let people connect to each other," Wuerfel told the Times. "When you encourage people to walk around, and you have books and board games and music that breathes life into spaces, you naturally provide the framework for social engagement."
While most of the books in the store/brewpub are used, Books & Brews also "offers a rack of new books for sale at the cover price, including titles by Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut Jr., whose maternal grandfather was Albert Lieber, a well-known local brewer in his day, and featured in Vonnegut's autobiographical Palm Sunday."