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| Reverie Books' current location | |
Reverie Books in South Austin, Tex., is fundraising to expand by opening a second South Austin location, called Reverie Books (Way South). The larger storefront will feature a venue space and coffee/wine bar. The current location at the Crockett Center in South Austin on Menchaca Road will remain open. To help close its fundraising gap, Reverie has launched an Indiegogo campaign, with a goal of $30,000 to "make" the fundraiser (with almost $6,000 raised so far) and $75,000 stretch goal to stay out of debt.
Owner Thais Perkins left her career in nonprofit environmental sciences to open Reverie Books in late 2021, "with a mission to create the kind of neighborhood bookstore where readers could discover their next favorite book, where kids could grow up surrounded by stories, where queer people, BIPOC people, artists, writers, and all neighbors could feel welcome. A place where community mattered more than capitalism, as evidenced by the dedication of all marketing dollars to nonprofit givebacks and their banned book giveaway program," she said.
Over the past five years, Reverie has outgrown its small space in Crockett Center. "We are constantly forced to choose between carrying more books, creating more community space, or simply having enough room for people to browse comfortably, let alone host author events in the Texas heat," Perkins said. "We'd like to have more than one intern at a time! And we'd like room to sit down!" With this second location, Reverie Books aims to:
- Expand its inventory and selection
- Create comfortable gathering space for readers and events
- Host author talks, shows, workshops, and community programs
- Continue uplifting diverse and marginalized voices
- Grow its high school internship program
- Create a bookstore that can help a healthy community thrive for decades to come