The Pile Bookstore has opened at 7117 Roosevelt Road in Berwyn, Ill., the Forest Park Review reported. Owner Rebecca Lewis said the first few weeks have been busy since opening in February. "People were really excited. They all came out for our opening."
Lewis was previously an office manager at a dental practice and, after helping run another business, wanted to open her own. Noting that Berwyn and South Forest Park did not have a bookstore, she "wanted to fix that, and even more so after attending a book swap in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago, where participants talked about books and recommended them to one another," the Review wrote.
"That's what a bookstore should be, somewhere that you can meet and gather and talk about these things," said Lewis, who has also opened a coffee shop inside the bookstore. In addition to drip coffee and cold brew from Kribi Coffee, the coffee shop also sells pastries from Turano Baking Company and, on Sundays, from Insanely Awesome Bakery, a pop-up based in Berwyn.
The Pile has already hosted a handful of events, including book clubs focusing on banned books and book-to-film adaptations, as well as a book club for high schoolers, where they choose what to read. The shop also has a corner that contains a bookshelf full of games for visitors to play.
"I really want it to be that kind of space where everybody can come together for something specific, but also fun. I want it to be something for everyone," said Lewis. "I'm seeing new faces all the time, being introduced to new people all the time.... It's already starting to be a third space for a lot of people."