Bookends hits the road ahead of storefront debut in Ybor
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Laurie and Teresa Rodriguez inside their mobile bookstore. Photo: Courtesy of Laurie Rodriguez
Laurie and Teresa Rodriguez spent their childhood in Tampa's historic Ybor City shopping at local businesses, eating Cuban sandwiches and reading.
- "It's an important part of our history," Laurie told Axios. "We just love Ybor."
What's happening: Now, they want to share their love with others by opening a local bookstore in the historic district called Bookends: Literature and Libations.
- The sisters secured a storefront in 2022 — a dilapidated bungalow built over 100 years ago — and have been renovating the space for their brick-and-mortar debut later this year.
- In the meantime, they've taken Bookends on the road in their so-called bookmobile. It appeared at Six Ten Brewing earlier in June and will pop up at Circa 1949 on June 25.
The big picture: The bookstore will open against the backdrop of curriculum wars in Florida that have seen classic books at the center of fierce school board debates and, in some cases, removed from libraries.
- PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for free expression, estimated more than 300 books had been banned in Florida schools. The sisters told Axios that push further underscores the need for independent bookstores.
- Laurie said literature has the distinctive ability to instill empathy in others, a trait that she says our society is increasingly becoming deficient of.
What they're saying: "We want the bookstore to be a place for education, literature, and the exchange of ideas," Laurie told Axios. "People crave to be out with other people in a safe space and evolve."
- "Books are definitely not dead," said Robert Jordan, Teresa's husband, who is helping renovate the storefront. "People crave the ability to find books that maybe you can't get elsewhere."
