Two sisters have brought a new bookstore to Downtown Cleveland’s Galleria at Erieview Tower, adding a small business to the retail center. Browsing Room Bookstore and Cafe opened on Dec. 9, offering a selection of international literature, small meals and coffee.
It was a labor of love from owners Catherine Kassouf and Jean Khoury, who renovated the space over the past year.
Originally, the shop — a former Williams Sonoma store, located next door to the Hungarian Museum — caught Kassouf’s eye while she was walking with her husband through the building. “I just stopped, looked at my husband, and said, ‘There’s my bookstore,’” Kassouf says. “He said ‘What? You have a bookstore?’”
Kassouf opened her wallet and pulled out an old piece of paper. On it, a dream, “The Browsing Room Bookstore," was written. She’d carried that paper, she says, for decades, since graduating from Ohio State University.
Now, the 67-year-old retired nurse anesthetist has finally seen her dream materialize in the form of the shop. Inside, you’ll find books inspired by her travels to more than 50 countries, where she'd often stop by local bookstores.
“You find these incredible authors translated in English, and reading them, you understand the difference in thought of each person from each country. You realize people think so differently from one another and the way they tell their stories emulates that,” Kassouf says. “I want to have a rich section of authors from the world I get to travel in, and also worlds I don’t travel in.”
In many ways, Browsing Room Bookstore will reflect Kassouf's own home. She and Khoury hand-picked cushy living room chairs, along with cups and saucers for beverages, adding small touches to make customers feel more cozy. Kassouf and Khoury got a custom live edge wood countertop from Byler's in Amish Country.
“I wanted it to look like you walked in my house, with my books, and to feel like you’re home,” Kassouf says. “This is a place to sit quietly, read a book, order books, have a nice cup of coffee, have a little something to eat.”
As for the food: The two sisters took a course to become baristas, learning how to make coffee, cappuccino, and other basic drinks for the restaurant’s drink menu. For food, expect a menu of bagels and cream cheese, basic sandwiches, croissants, cookies, danishes, soups and sandwiches, contracted with local bakeries in Cleveland.
While Browsing Room Books is Kassouf’s dream, her sister — a retired pharmacist — was eager to pitch in.
“My passion is helping her,” Khoury says about her sister. “I love her so much. My passion is helping her realize this dream, and it’s coming together pretty nicely.”
They also hope to share that dream with Clevelanders — to create a community gathering space that will host educational talks and rentals for events. Khoury says the shop has already been booked out for watch parties, poetry readings, chess clubs and birthdays. A patio will welcome visitors in the city’s warmer months.
The sisters aim for the bookshelves to reflect their community, too. They are open to suggestions for their store’s stock and plan to put a chalkboard outside the store for customers to write down the types of books they want to have on the shelves.
“We’re trying to make it an open space with the community,” Khoury says.
Find more information about the new business at thebrowsingroombookstore.com.
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