Sis's Stories, which opened last year as a mobile bookstore, will host a grand opening weekend celebration October 10-11 for its 1,400-square-foot brick-and-mortar storefront at 617 E. Saginaw St., Grand Ledge, Mich. Co-owners Shante Newbury and her daughter, Kali Mullen, have long shared their love of books with one another.
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| Shante Newbury and Kali Mullen in their mobile bookstore. | |
"When I was younger, reading was a very big thing in our house," Mullen told the Lansing State Journal, which reported that the owners, who refer to one another as "Sis," still compare notes about the books they read: "Their book chats led to a shared dream, their own bookstore." Last summer, they opened the mobile version of Sis's Stories, housed inside a trailer they purchased on Facebook Marketplace for $2,300, and spent $10,000 remodeling it to be cozy and welcoming. They have been operating in coffee shop parking lots and at area events ever since.
The move to a physical storefront has always been their "dream," Mullen said. Newberry added that the popularity of the mobile store made this leap possible: "I think it's grown more than we could have imagined in the beginning and now we just keep starting to think bigger and bigger."
They had always intended to open a storefront, and looked at spaces in the Lansing area for several months. "We for sure wanted the Grand Ledge area," Mullen said. "We both are here in the community, and I think one of the things we're missing around this area is more independent bookstores." The bookshop will carry a variety of fiction and nonfiction, along with children's and used books. "In a bookstore, we can have thousands versus hundreds of books, so that'll be a huge difference," Newberry noted.
The owners said what they are most excited for is the ability to host book-centered events, including book clubs, book bingo, and crafting sessions. "This will give us space to be able to do more of those and gather as a community," Newberry said.
Sis's Stories mobile bookstore will also continue to operate, according to Mullen, who noted: "We do plan on still doing trailer events come trailer season again."