Monstera's Books in Overland Park, Kan., hosted a grand reopening and ribbon cutting celebration on Saturday, December 6, more than three months after the bookstore, at 7930 Floyd St., suffered extensive smoke and water damage from an electrical fire that started at the restaurant next door. The shop originally opened in March 2024.
Co-owners Kate and Justin Wieners packed their house "with books, plants and other merchandise from Monstera's Books after a fire forced their small business to temporarily close," the Kansas City Star reported. They have been documenting the journey back to reopening on a blog, featuring photos of the building's progress and their efforts to continue filling orders.
"Even though everything was intact after the fire, we had to completely clean out the store," Justin Wieners said. "Even the drywall and walls had to come out. It was down to bare studs." They hired a restoration company to clean and refinish the bookshelves, and used an ozone machine for the smoke smell. Employees helped with the long process of restocking items and preparing them for sale.
"The insurance process takes a while, and so we needed to figure out a way to bridge the gap," Justin Wieners said, adding that Monstera's saw some early success after it first opened, gaining loyal customers who rallied around the business when renovations began.
During the closure, store manager Laramie Appenfeller helped continue to fill orders, organize inventory, "and do just about anything else it took to reopen," the Star noted. In his blog, Justin Wieners said Appenfeller worked from the Wienerses' spare bedroom, kitchen counter, and her Toyota as she hand-delivered books around Kansas City.
At the store's grand reopening, Appenfeller said the motivation behind her work is to build community: "We did a lot of stuff trying to meet people throughout those three months. I was still doing drop-offs and meeting people on their lunch breaks to get them books. But it wasn't really about the books. It was just about wonderful people. And I think that's what sets us apart from a lot of places. People feel that the second they walk in."
Justin Wieners said the community has shown his family love and support during the grueling months of renovation, and their support allowed the bookshop to rebuild. Happy to be back doing what he loves, he added that the reopening celebration "was more of like a family reunion.... When people walk in, we say 'Welcome in,' and they're like, 'Welcome to you. So glad you're back,' which feels really good."