KAPA‘A — The house is red, but the room is touted as “Blue House Booksellers.” “We don’t have a Borders anymore, and this is the Eastside’s only bookstore,” said barista Danielle Brauel of The Small Town Coffee in Kapa‘a. “People
KAPA‘A — The house is red, but the room is touted as “Blue House Booksellers.”
“We don’t have a Borders anymore, and this is the Eastside’s only bookstore,” said barista Danielle Brauel of The Small Town Coffee in Kapa‘a.
“People are invited to browse the offerings, right here in Kapa‘a. It’s not as big as Border’s, but at least it’s something.”
A myriad of books neatly line the shelves offering a range of subjects, and in lieu of a place to lounge for deeper investigation of titles, the tiny room (no, it’s not blue, either) offers a wealth of titles in a tiny space.
On hand are titles in used, new, Hawaiiana, journals and more, states the Blue House Booksellers website.
Mary Lu Kelley of Oceanit, is one of the featured writers on the website.
She cares for a “tribe” of seven Alaskan Malamutes, and shares information gained from her life with the Alaskan dogs in Hawai‘i.
Prices are located on the inside of the cover and a laminated instruction sheet, which instructs patrons to “stash your payment in the Secret Agenda,” located on a single table in the room.
Before finalizing payment, the buyer needs to write the author’s last name on a pad near the Secret Agenda.
This is just one of the services offered by Small Town Coffee, which offers parking shared with the adjacent Kaua‘i Products Fair marketplace across from Otsuka’s furniture.
Open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Small Town Coffee offers organic, fair trade artisan roast coffee and espresso, fine loose leaf teas, freshly baked pastries, free Wi-Fi and breakfast and lunch.
Visit its website at www.smalltowncoffee.com or bluehousebooksellers.com for more information or drop in person and look for the welcoming owl fashioned around a discarded drum.
