[title]
“It’s giving Scholastic Book Fair,” says Shasha Léonard, the newly-minted proprietor of Backroom Books, a pop-up book shop at Strong Rope Brewery in Red Hook. Like that old childhood treat, that moveable feast of letters and softcover perfume, Backroom aims to meet readers where they are, with a little unexpected delight on the way.
Tucked into the back of the sprawling brewery on the East River’s edge, just a couple of weeks after opening, Backroom is the waterfront neighborhood’s premier place to read with a little ABV.
“It's cozy,” Léonard, who uses they/them pronouns, says. “You can sit in one of these really cool leather chairs and read a book with this incredible view of tugboats and barges going by.”
Léonard, who works in IT by day, and their partner Gordon Taylor began the operation in an underused space at the brewery, Gordon’s place of employment. The couple, who lives nearby, had been mulling the idea for a few years, browsing possible storefronts, before the brick-and-mortar opportunity arose this winter.
“I saw that little back room that seemed kind of unloved and I was like something we could do something with this,” Léonard says.
“There isn’t really a book source in Red Hook,” they say. The closest public library is closed for renovations and the nearest seller, Freebird, is a meandering distance away, up in the Columbia Waterfront district. This is, of course, on top of the recent news that all New York Public Libraries would have to close on Sundays due to budget cuts. That unwelcome development catapulted Léonard and Taylor’s long-simmering plan into action.
“This was kind of my last push,” they say.
“I was really pissed,” Léonard says, recalling the tremendous amount of time they spent in libraries growing up as a respite. “I don’t know what people like me are going to do without a library on Sunday. It definitely inspired [a feeling of], ‘gosh, I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have a little third space.’ Third spaces are really important in New York City.”
“It just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” they say, echoing citywide frustrations. “I don’t know where things are going.”
Just a few months passed between the library headlines and Backroom Books’ January 27 opening.
“When I brought it up with Strong Rope, they were really down—really awesome people by the way; the owners are incredible—they were really down to just have it open all the time and for me to take over that little chunk of space, so that was also really motivating,” Léonard says.
There are presently about 250 books in Backroom’s collection, what Léonard describes as a petite but carefully curated selection of fiction and non, memoirs, art books and comics. Titles like The Mars Room, Glass Town, and Lessons in Chemistry were in the recent inventory. Léonard and Taylor have purchased some, gathered others from friends, and rescued a few from stoops around town. And, Red Hook being the nautical hamlet that it is, word travels fast, with contributions coming in from others who live or work in the area. The bar manager at Widow Jane Distillery’s Botanica, for example, handed over his growing kids’ old books. There’s also a little donation box for drop-offs.
Titles are, typical to the used book arena, cheaper than new. Those in excellent condition will go for half or less than their sticker price, with greater reductions for covers losing their luster.
“It was really important to me that these books be affordable,” Léonard says.
Backroom isn’t quite staffed, even though Taylor works on-site and Léonard is a frequent visitor. And payment is on the honor system via a QR code or in cash to the bartender. Funds replenish product, Léonard says.
Léonard says that, on opening day, a lot of the foot traffic was families with kids who’d wander into Backroom, which is somewhat obscured in the back of the brewery.
“When you first walk in, you'll see how big the space is, and you'll see the bar on the right. But if you don't go all the way to the back and turn right, you won't see [Backroom]. I'm very sure there were people who walked in there on Saturday or Sunday and never saw it.”
In addition to the informal kiddie hours, Strong Rope and Back Room have also begun to host book and beer pairings.
Léonard expects Backroom Books to operate in the back of Strong Rope Brewery until at least the spring, with hopes to keep it running in some form for the foreseeable future, likely in Red Hook.
“I feel like maybe I don't even realize how lucky I am to be here sometimes,” they say. “And to have the community that we have here.”
Backroom Books is located in Strong Rope Brewery at 185 Van Dyke Street. It is open in tandem with the brewery: Monday-Thursday from 2pm-9pm, Friday and Saturday from noon to 10pm and Sunday from noon-9pm.