Innovative bookstore-bar combination concept Book Club Bar has been operating in East Village since 2019. Now, it is expanding to Bushwick, according to a recent Instagram announcement. Book Club Bar will take a roughly 2,000-square-foot space at 380 Troutman St.
Longtime New Yorkers Erin Neary and Nat Esten opened the first spot in 2019 as a community-oriented concept. The website describes it as “a new kind of independent bookstore featuring top-notch cocktails, beer, wine and coffee” as well as a curated book inventory. The spot offers the beverages of a cafe-bar in tandem with a cozy bookstore atmosphere.
Esten told What Now New York that they have been looking for a space in the Bushwick area for a few years.
“We always felt that Bushwick was a natural next step for us,” Esten said. “We both spend a lot of time out there, we have a lot of friends out there and it’s got a lot of similarites to the East Village, so we just felt like our concept would fit well out there.”
The new spot will be about the size of the East Village location, but it will have a bit more space for books and seating. Esten said they are keeping the design and menu largely consistent with the original location, with the goal to create a warm, inviting, cozy environment for customers. They will also be adding beer taps at the Bushwick location.
“There are some different elements to the actual space, like the ceilings are higher and there are skylights,” Esten said. “As far as the layout of the actual store, we want to keep it similar to what we have in the East Village and we want a similar aesthetic. We’re going for something moody, something cozy, somewhere you can have a glass of wine and buy a book.”
Esten said the team is aiming for a summer opening. Customers can expect plenty of events to kick off the launch of the Bushwick location, so stay tuned for updates.
