The Story Book Cottage opened last fall at 2243 Hwy. 41 in Greenbrier, Tenn. The Connection reported that since its launch, the bookshop and cafe has "become a new local destination for Greenbrier residents and surrounding communities."
The Story Book Cottage is the creation of the Pierson family, who converted their business Fishtales, an aquatic store specializing in freshwater fish and aquascaping, into a bookstore.
Owner Christy Pierson said that the idea to change direction came from her two daughters, who wanted to bring a bookstore of their own to the community: "My daughters are huge readers, I'm a huge reader, and I worked in libraries and bookstores when I was younger. My oldest daughter is getting her master's in library science. Her dream is to open up a bookstore, so I said, why don't we just do that? We were tired of cleaning fish tanks, so we thought a bookstore would be much easier."
The Story Book Cottage offers a wide range of new titles, including large children's, YA, and fantasy sections. The store also hosts many literary-themed events, as well as book clubs and photography sessions.
Pierson said her family continues to feel overwhelmed by the bookstore's success: "I think people are just so happy to have something local to do, to bring their kids on a Friday night and let them play in our play area while they have coffee. The community has been wonderful. I can't tell you how many times people have been like, 'We don't want you to close. We're going to support you.' So, they seem really happy about it."