Tomes & Tonics bookstore and bar will open next month at 2454 W. Clay St. in St. Charles, Mo. The St. Louis Business Journal reported that sisters Sarah and Julie Davison have been working on the project for nearly a year and a half and received all the necessary building permits last month. The bookstore will feature romance, romantasy, science fiction, thrillers, horror, and historical fiction options, as well as some anime and graphic novels.
"The space is part bookshop, part bar, part just a place to chill," Sarah Davison said. "We don't have enough spaces to just be. We have amazing indie bookstores, but a lot of them close by five or six. There is a gap there... where people can go."
The owners are tearing down some walls, building a bar, and making the bathrooms ADA compliant. The front of the building will serve as a small event space. Julie Davison took out a $165,000 home equity loan to fund the renovation of the 3,100-square-foot space and handle operating expenses for the first months.
"I've always wanted to have my own business," she said. "I love books and I was always interested in a bookstore. I just didn't want to go down the path of doing something alone; I wanted a partner."
Tomes & Tonics will hire one full-time employee with bar experience and at least one or two part-time workers to staff the bookstore. The Business Journal noted that the co-owners plan to quit their full-time jobs in the coming weeks as the store nears opening.
There will be no kitchen inside the building, but Tomes & Tonics will offer bar service, with coffee, tea, mocktails, and cocktails. Patrons are encouraged to order or bring in food from local restaurants while spending time inside the store, which plans to provide take-out menus.
"We want to make sure we are promoting local businesses," Sarah Davison said. "We're focusing on as many local breweries and distilleries as we can."