Tome Books & Novelteas hosted its grand opening on May 24 at 6089 Salem Road in Cincinnati, Ohio. In Instagram posts on the big day, the bookstore noted: "It’s been so good seeing you all today. Wow… what a day it’s been thus far..... Wow... it's closing time. And my did you all SHOW UP, and SHOW OUT!!! Over 600 people came through our doors today. The biggest shoutout to the Anderson and Mount Washington area, we've missed you all so much. Thanks to everyone that traveled from all around Cincinnati, folks came from Dayton, Kentucky, and Indy."
In March, CityBeat had reported that a "reimagined" Tome Books & Novelteas would be reopening in Cincinnati, where Tome Books first launched in the city's Mt. Washington neighborhood in 2022 but closed the following year and rebranded as Scarlet Rose Books & Vintage Boutique in Ludlow, Ky., which closed last July.
The Tome Bookshop "was our first iteration where we focused on books and a cafe atmosphere." co-owner Jeremy Spencer--who is also an author under the pseudonym J.M. Clark--told WKRC. "It didn't quite work out the way we wanted to, with the aches and pains of starting a new business. But we're back."
He added that he and his wife, Autumn Spencer, learned several lessons while owning the bookstore at their Mount Washington location, including how to compete with large retailers: "It's really hard to compete with the big guys like Amazon because of the convenience piece and how they can offer books at a cheaper price. So, locally what we try to do is events to bring people in and build community." The bookstore now specializes in teas, offers free writing workshops, children's readings, book clubs, free Wi-Fi, and more.
"We had more than 600 people come in for our grand opening, and that tells us that the community is really interested in what we're doing right now," Spencer noted.