Resident Proposes Independent Bookstore for Bloomington
A longtime Bloomington resident presented plans for the city's first independent bookstore in nearly three decades during a recent city council meeting.
Twilight Deng, a 20-year Bloomington resident, outlined her proposal for BookMother, describing it as both a retail space and community gathering place. Deng said Bloomington has lacked an independent bookstore for almost 30 years and emphasized the need for a space that fosters community connections.
The proposed bookstore would cater to diverse reading preferences, welcoming traditional book readers, audiobook listeners and those who prefer non-traditional formats. Deng said the business aims to serve as a cultural destination that would draw visitors to spend time and money in Bloomington.
Deng highlighted her family's involvement in local reading initiatives, including volunteering with readathons at Oakrove Elementary and serving on the book committee at Kennedy High School. She said the bookstore represents a way to combine her love of reading, business development and community service.
Community members can learn more about BookMother at the Hatch Bloomington presentation scheduled for Aug. 6, where Deng will present alongside other local business proposals.
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Presentation on 'Bookmother' Independent Bookstore Proposal
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Twilight Deng presented her vision for 'Bookmother,' a new independent bookstore in Bloomington, Minnesota. She highlighted its role as a community third space and retail outlet, emphasizing the city's 30-year absence of such a venue. Deng detailed the store's multi-purpose nature, aiming to attract diverse readers and serve as a cultural destination while also generating revenue. She called for community support at an upcoming Hatch Bloomington event.
Bloomington hasn't had an independent bookstore in almost 30 years. And we deserve it. We deserve a space that fosters community.
We are working really hard to make sure that we build a viable revenue generating bookstore that helps bring not just money to the city but creates a cultural destination for people.
The best thing I can tell you is I love reading. I love Bloomington and I want to combine those two things together.
Source document
[0:00] Hi, I'm Twilight Deng and I'm a 20-year
[0:02] resident of Bloomington, Minnesota. And
[0:04] I'm opening a bookstore. It's called
[0:05] Bookmother. It's a community third space
[0:08] and a retail space that is meant to
[0:10] bring people together. Why do I want a
[0:13] bookstore? Because I love reading and I
[0:15] love this town. 20 years ago, I decided
[0:18] to make a living here and I decided to
[0:20] move here with my family. and we have
[0:22] been involved in reading at every level
[0:24] whether it's running the readathon at
[0:26] Oakrove Elementary, sitting on the book
[0:29] um committee at Kennedy High School
[0:31] today or the years that we helped
[0:33] volunteer with Bookham. We love reading
[0:35] and I wanted to find a way to marry the
[0:38] love of the city, the love of reading
[0:40] and honestly my love of building
[0:42] businesses in a space where we could all
[0:44] benefit. Now our store is going to be a
[0:47] multi-purpose bookstore. So, there's all
[0:49] types of genres and even more, we want
[0:52] all types of readers in our space. This
[0:54] is for your avid readers, the slow
[0:56] readers, the people who don't read
[0:58] traditional books, people who love audio
[1:00] books, cuz that's reading, too. Everyone
[1:03] is welcome in our space. Why do we need
[1:05] this? Because Bloomington hasn't had an
[1:07] independent bookstore in almost 30
[1:10] years. And we deserve it. We deserve a
[1:12] space that fosters community. And I want
[1:15] to help build that. But remember, it's
[1:16] also a retail space. So I have an
[1:18] advisory team and we are working really
[1:20] hard to make sure that we build a viable
[1:22] revenue generating bookstore that helps
[1:26] bring not just money to the city but
[1:29] creates a cultural destination for
[1:30] people. We want people to come to
[1:32] Bloomington and spend time here and even
[1:34] more I want people to come here and
[1:35] spend money in my bookstore.
[1:38] The best thing I can tell you is I love
[1:40] reading. I love Bloomington and I want
[1:42] to combine those two things together.
[1:44] So, please come out on August 6th uh
[1:47] when we have the next round at Hatch
[1:48] Bloomington. You can see me and all of
[1:50] my other colleagues and competitors. Um
[1:52] and I would love to have you come out
[1:54] and support. Thank you so much and thank
[1:56] you for supporting Bookmother.
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Proposal for 'Bookmother' Independent Bookstore in Bloomington
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