A new bookstore set to open in Oro Valley will also serve as a café, offering coffee, beer and wine to go with your Kingsolver, Grisham and Coates.
Husband-and-wife team Crispin and Elizabeth Jeffrey-Franco hope to have up and running on the west end of , 1880 E. Tangerine Road, by the end of April.
Both Crispin and Elizabeth grew up on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s northwest side. After living in bigger cities, including Seattle and Phoenix, they moved back home in 2019 to be closer to family. Once here, they noticed a lack of bookstore cafés in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ area.
“We saw them in other cities,†Crispin Jeffrey-Franco said. “There is a bookstore café in Phoenix called with a full bar. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has lots of great bookstores and lots of great cafés. For us, there is something about combining the two that makes being in that kind of space really liberating.â€
People are also reading…
The pandemic pushed the couple to first launch their book business as a pop-up at local restaurants, such as in Oro Valley, in tap rooms, and at farmers markets, to build the brand and get a sense of what people were reading. As recently as October, they held a book discussion at East Ninth Street location.
“We had a great time,†Crispin Jeffrey-Franco said. “So many businesses have allowed us to test out this concept.â€
When the time came to choose a brick-and-mortar, they opted for Oro Valley, an area where independently owned bookstores were scarce, and where they could attract customers from nearby communities in Catalina, SaddleBrooke, Marana and northwest ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
Stacks Book Club will sell mostly new books over used titles. Its cafe will offer locally-sourced coffees and teas, as well as a small food selection. Beers and wines will also be “as local as we can get them,†Crispin Jeffrey-Franco said.
“Books are the things we are passionate about,†he said. “Having the café to add to that experience makes it a more sustainable model for us.â€
Crispin and Elizabeth’s grand plan is to see Stacks Book Club become a place for community in Oro Valley. They hope to sell items from local makers and artists, and a section of the store will serve as a designated meeting place for book clubs and other local groups.
“You can host a group,†Crispin Jeffrey-Franco said. “You can bring friends. The community can use the space however it wants to use it.â€
Follow Stacks Book Club’s progress at or visit its website at .
Watch Now: Tony Wolff opened Space Monkey Comics at 7431 E. 22nd St. in late October. You will find Dr. Strange, Wonder Woman, Spawn, Deadpool and thousands of other heroes and anti-heroes from just about every universe. Video by Mamta Popat, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥
This award-winning ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ restaurant has opened a basement bar
