Tropes & Trifles romance bookstore, Minneapolis, Minn., which operated as a pop-up for the last seven weeks of 2023, was so successful that it is temporarily closing for a remodel and expansion, with plans to reopen in March at the same location, 2709 E. 38th St., the Star Tribune reported.
"It's not just boy-falls-in-love-with-girl," said co-owner Lauren Richards of the shop's selections, adding that titles featuring LGBTQ or neurodivergent characters (and authors) of color are among her favorites. "Sometimes, people want to read stories about people who look like them and share similar experiences and sometimes they want to read stories about people who are different from them."
The store's footprint will remain 1,000 square feet, but co-owner Caitlin O'Neil said one of the lessons of the pop-up was that "we need a lot more room and a lot more shelves in order to fit a lot more books, in order to meet demand."
Part of the expansion plan is to reconfigure the store, which now has 500 square feet of shelving, to 700-800 square feet of sales space. This will allow Tropes & Trifles to triple the 1,500 titles stocked in the pop-up. Although the store will be closed until construction is completed, Tropes and Trifles will feature pop-ups at other Twin Cities locations during the pause.
In an Instagram post announcing the expansion, the bookstore noted: "Huge thanks to everyone who's visited, chatted books, shared us with your friends and family, and left us lovely Google reviews. We [love] you all! SEE YOU BIGGER & BETTER IN SPRING 2024!"