Shelving-experts-turned-store-owners look to bring a magical new space to the area
COOKEVILLE – Work began June 1 to turn 35 W. Spring St. into a new independent bookstore and event space. The store, called Plenty on Spring, will feature a carefully curated selection of books, both classics and new releases.
Highlights will include the latest bestsellers, books by Tennessee authors, a large children’s section, locally made goods and other carefully selected gift items. The shop will also be home to a regular string of events like local singer songwriter performances, theater troupes, children’s events, classes and workshops, book clubs and more.
The event side of Plenty on Spring will also house a cafe serving up a great selection of drinks, snacks, local Tennessee cheeses and will even offer loose leaf tea and freshly baked cookies.
The owners of this new book shop are Cookeville locals Lisa and Dave Uhrik, who are no strangers to the book world; they also own and operate a local manufacturing company, Franklin Fixtures. Franklin Fixtures has set the gold standard for retail display across the US for nearly 50 years, creating and installing display shelving in over 30,000 bookstore projects across the country, including notables like Jeff Kinney’s Unlikely Story in Plainville, Massachusetts; MIT Bookstore in Boston; Sewanee’s off-campus community store in Tennessee; Story and Song in Amelia Island, Florida; and the much beloved Books of Wonder in NYC (also known as the “Shop Around The Corner” of You’ve Got Mail fame).
Lisa and Dave have kindled a lifelong passion for books, bookstores and all things literary, believing that literacy, conversation and service action are keys to community building, quality of life and individual growth. After years of helping to create and truly learn from the collaborative independent bookstore industry, they are so excited to join their friends across the country – as well as collaborators locally like Harpers Rare Books and Collectables, Walls of Books and the Public Libraries – in creating a magical community space of their own.
“We love the collaborative spirit in this region and getting to add to the exciting things that are happening in downtown Cookeville sooner than we’d hoped is especially nice,” said Lisa. “Ashley Michael has agreed to co-manage the store, and we are inviting a strong and large team to contribute made here items, music, theater, author and children’s events. We know our customers will be expecting us to live what we teach, and we will try our best to be a great example of all we’ve learned from their successes.”
The vision of the Uhriks does not end with Spring Street. The overarching project is one called Plenty on Poplar and includes plans for a destination bookstore in the form of a barn, soon to be built on a lovely piece of land adjacent to City Lake in Cookeville.
The barn bookstore/venue, called Plenty on Poplar, will be set among lavender fields and will host farm-to-table events, author events, outdoor concerts and will even include a dog park. The hope is to do big things.
To follow along on the journey of Plenty on Spring and Plenty on Poplar, subscribe to the mailing list through http://www.plentyonspring.com.
The Plenty on Spring location is set to open fall 2022, and while the store is being finished out, you can help raise the store and the barn by shopping with them online at https://bookshop.org/shop/plentyonpoplar.
