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| The new Asbury Book Co-op in progress. | |
The Asbury Book Cooperative, Asbury Park, N.J., will open in its new, much larger space at 644A Cookman Ave. tomorrow, in time for Independent Bookstore Day. The bookshop, which has been closed this week for the move across the street from its previous location, posted on Facebook: "Moving week continues. I'm not crying, you're crying.... Why are our volunteers so lovely, hardworking, and amazing? How did we get so lucky to have this beautiful new space? We cannot wait to share it with you all soon!"
Saturday's festivities will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new store, music by the Ocean Avenue Stompers, donuts from Purple Glaze, storytime, a special announcement about a community mural project, giveaways, raffle pulls and more.
Store manager Liza Minno told the Asbury Park Press last month that the move to a 1,995-square-foot space, four times the size of its previous location, "is just going to give us the room that we need to continue to grow. The growth has been happening really organically to the point where we are bursting at the seams at our current space.... We love being on our block. We love our downtown neighbors. This is ideal for us."
The Asbury Book Cooperative is an outgrowth of words! Bookstore, which launched in 2008. After the owners retired, the store converted in 2020 into a member-run cooperative, which now it has more than 500 members.