Revolutions Bookshop, a used and new bookstore in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland, Ore., "now has twice as much space to devote to what owners Peggy and Brian Manning have described as its 'academia meets punk rock' aesthetic," the Oregonian reported.
Revolutions first opened in November 2019, and the shop packed its books and vinyl records into a 650-square-foot space. When neighbor Angel's Donuts closed, the Mannings decided to expand into that storefront as well. Last November, they tore down the intervening wall.
"We basically doubled our size," Brian Manning said.
"We're really surprised at how natural it looks. It feels like it's always been this space," Peggy Manning noted, adding that they had been wanting to expand their business and were considering other locations when the opportunity to take over the adjacent storefront happened.
Brian Manning said they had originally opened the type of bookstore they wanted in their neighborhood, emphasizing titles about identity as well as radical politics and history.
"We've been meeting a lot of people lately that are really focused on mutual aid," Peggy Manning said. "These are people that see a better future for everyone.... I feel like that's mainly our Revolutions customers, people that come in here looking for answers to share with others... not sitting around and waiting for somebody else to fix it for them."