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| Coming soon: Juliet Books (and Maisy). | |
Juliet Books & Beautiful Things will open in June at 200 Parkthrough St. in Cary, N.C., the Triangle Business Journal reported. Owner Marcie Montague, a former SAS Institute executive and Cary resident, said, "I want downtown Cary to really have a heart, and it can't only be eating and drinking establishments. We have to bring some other type of experiences to the downtown."
The bookstore will occupy a space formerly occupied by longtime Cary business Tart's Barber Shop. The Tart family owns the property and has given Montague right of first refusal to purchase it. "If they do decide to sell it, then I would be able to buy the building, which would be great," she noted.
Montague has spent her career in tech, working at SAS for more than 20 years. After leaving the company, she spent five years at SingleStore, which was acquired last year by private equity firm Vector Capital Management in a $500 million deal, the Triangle Business Journal noted. Montague used her stock payout from the acquisition to open the bookstore, something she has wanted to do for the past decade.
"You can do a lot of things with money. You can stick it in the bank, and then you die. You can go to Las Vegas and gamble it, or you can do something that you've always wanted to do," she said. "I thought, even if I lost every penny, which I do not plan on, and I don't think that I will, I will still be happy that I took the risk and did it."
The store is named after Juliet Capulet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In addition to books, it will offer sideline gift items to showcase local makers, host book clubs and other events, and Montague is planning to apply for a beer and wine license. She plans to hire three employees for the store. The mezzanine level will be a dedicated children's section, with a mural that replicates Juliet's balcony.
"I'm trying to have it be a community store. I am trying to get vendors that are local makers and local artists to carry in the store, so that when you come in, you can feel like you're supporting the whole Cary community," Montague said. She is taking a small business course through the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center and also earning certification through the Professional Booksellers School.