Following its debut as a pop-up and mobile bookstore, Smitten Booktique is opening a bricks-and-mortar store in Leawood, Kan., the Johnson County Post reported.
The romance-focused bookstore will open on September 27 at 11531 Ash St. in the Park Place shopping center. Owners Kara and Damien Bowersock will carry a wide range of romance titles for adults, as well as some young adult romance and children's books that pertain to familial love and friendship. Alongside books, customers will find things like candles, bookmarks, and hats.
Kara Bowersock told the Post that the bricks-and-mortar space will allow the store to host events and better connect with its customers. "In the mobile store, it's so busy that we don't have a lot of time to just sit and talk with people. We'd like to have author signings and book clubs and release parties. So all of the things that bookstores typically do, we get to do them now."
Smitten Booktique made its debut as a pop-up vendor at Painted Tree Boutiques in Overland Park, Kan., in 2023, and last year converted a 160 square-foot cargo trailer into the mobile bookstore. The Bowersocks had considered opening a bricks-and-mortar store for some time, but could not find the right location, until they found the space in the Park Place shopping center earlier this year.