2 Dandelions Bookshop in Brighton, Mich., is expanding into an adjacent building, the Livingston Daily reported.
Store owners Jeri Kay Thomas and Jeanne Blazo are purchasing the building next door and will expand into it, effectively doubling the size of the bookstore. They plan to have the expansion complete in the spring, with Thomas noting the building they acquired is more than 100 years old and "lots of things need to be worked out."
While many of the exact details are still undecided, Blazo and Thomas plan to use the extra space to bring in more books, particularly in nonfiction categories like history, biography, science, nature, and cookbooks. They'll also have the room to host larger events, and there is potential to create a large back patio for the bookstore.
For the past 20 years, the building belonged to Dan and Liz Gadwa, who used it as the offices for their business Concord Mortgage, and it was Liz Gadwa who reached out to Thomas and Blazo about buying the building.
"I didn't want to give my baby to just anyone," Gadwa told the Daily. "I know everybody loves the bookstore. All the events they have gather so many people, and we just became friends being neighbors downtown."
Blazo and Thomas founded 2 Dandelions in October 2019, and in 2020 they moved into their current home at 428 W. Main St. They'd started to consider expanding again when Gadwa approached them.
"Our community has supported us," Thomas remarked. "I think Brighton was ready for an independent bookstore. So, we feel very fortunate and thankful every day. It's been a great ride."