Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan., plans to add a second location this fall. The store-within-a-store concept is slated to open in early October inside Made in KC's new neighborhood shop in the Kansas City Power & Light District, at 161 E. 14th St. in Kansas City, the KC Business Journal reported. Made in KC has 15 area locations, including its Outta the Blue and Front Range coffee shop brands.
The 6,332-square-foot combined store at Power & Light includes a 665-square-foot mezzanine. Nearly half the space will be dedicated to the bookstore, according to Made in KC co-founder Tyler Enders, who is also part of Rainy Day's ownership group.
"We've known that Rainy Day Books is going to be a stronger company with a few locations," he added. "We have no ambitions of creating a chain, but one of our major goals with Rainy Day Books is to be one of the premier author destinations. When authors go on tour, they often skip over the Midwest, and we really want to make sure that we're winning those authors.... It's really helpful for the scale of our business to have another venue where we can host events."
The new Made in KC store will feature a full-service coffee shop with pastries, sandwiches, and other baked goods. Alcohol also will be served, as well as a variety of goods from local makers. The Rainy Day location will focus on books published within the past two to three years. Enders estimates the store can carry at least 10,000 titles.
Enders added that the Power & Light location is ideal because it can attract customers in town for a nearby convention or show: "Having a coffee shop combined with a bookstore is really exciting for us. There's just a lot of complementary reasons to share a space."