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2 Dandelions has twice the space in Brighton city centre

Posted on by Vaseline
2 Dandelions has twice the space in Brighton city centre

BRIGHTON — An independent bookshop in the centre of Brighton has been transformed.

2 Dandelions Bookshop owners Jeri Kay Thomas and Jeanne Blazo have doubled the size of their bookstore, patio and rear parking lot at 428 W. Main St. They recently purchased the building next door, formerly occupied by Concord Mortgage. They connected the two storefronts and reconfigured the layout.

“We can breathe. The books can breathe,” Thomas said. “We’re excited about the accessibility.”

The expansion has allowed the store to expand the children’s section, with adult titles moved to the “new” side. Each side has its own front entrance. Myrtle the turtle stays with the youngsters, living in a tank in the store.

“Myrtle is very much the center of attention now,” Thomas said. “She’s a real draw.”

Shelves on wheels make it easier to organize storytimes and other events.

In the adult section there is a table for new fiction, an entire wall for non-fiction, even more shelves on wheels and much more space to showcase popular titles.

“With all the books, we generally have more opportunities to display them so that people can see them and appreciate them. It makes a difference if they’re face up instead of the spines,” Thomas said. “We can share them appropriately with our readers. There are so many good ones, and sometimes they get lost.

“It’s still in development, but on Friday afternoon we finished the reorganization and opened the doors. We thought, ‘Let’s see what happens.’ The support has been tremendous and we really appreciate that.”

The business hosts events on the back patio when the weather permits. The second storefront also had a patio, so the owners will add more seating, lighting, landscaping and possibly art.

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“It just gets a lot easier,” Thomas said.

2 Dandelions will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, July 26 at 4 p.m., featuring cookies and a book-shaped cake. The company’s first children’s storytime in the renovated space will be held on Saturday, July 27 at 11 a.m.

— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at [email protected].

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