Read It & Eat Bookshop will be moving this fall from its space in Buffalo's Valvaere Collective to a 1,700-square-foot flagship location, with a dedicated demonstration kitchen, at 5526 Main St. in Williamsville, N.Y. Buffalo Business First reported that owner Kimberly Behzadi started her business about five years ago as an online book and food subscription operation out of her Chicago apartment. After relocating to Western New York in 2021, she gradually expanded to become a full-fledged culinary bookstore.
"That commercial kitchen will enable and unlock for us the ability to host cooking classes, private events and it will be certified so that it can be rented hourly for those that might be a small business, that are part of maybe the farmers' market, which enables job opportunities and helps community engagement," she said.
In building her business, Behzadi researched culinary bookstores in America and independent bookstores in the Buffalo area. "I think people sometimes have the impression that bookstores, we are these magical places, which we are, but it's a business and it's very serious," she said.
Behzadi has an MBA with a concentration in marketing and consulting from the University at Buffalo. She became a certified bookseller through the Professional Booksellers School. In 2022, she participated in the UB's Emerging Entrepreneurship Accelerator program. More recently, she has taken a class on profitability for bookstores and financial planning for bookstores. "I'm someone who fully believes in the long-term investment and also continuing education," she said.
While looking for a flagship location, her research told her the highest concentration of her biggest customers was in North Buffalo, which narrowed her search to Kenmore or Williamsville, and eventually to the space she will occupy. Her goal is to have the kitchen be continually booked, including people teaching classes to those holding private events to smaller businesses who need kitchen space.
"A bookstore, as magical and whimsical as I love my store and want it to be, you know, there are lots of calculations that go into this," she said. "I believe in risk, but I'm also trying to take a calculated risk."