Scuppernong Books Grand Opening Feb. 1

The new warmly welcomed downtown Greensboro bookstore, Scuppernong Books, will celebrate its grand opening Sat., Feb. 1 with a fun-filled night. From 6-10p.m., guests can sample from the new menu, enjoy wine and beer specials and be entertainment with music from Matty Sheets and the Blockheads. There will also be readings and performances from the Scuppernong staff and assorted friends. The wine, beer and coffee will flow, and the books will glow with ideas, information and inspiration. You can enjoy it all for the admission price of a canned good, which will be donated to the food bank at Greensboro Urban Ministries. Owners Greg Grieve and Brian Lampkin also recognize the importance of Feb. 1, and encourage their guests to visit the Civil Rights Museum while downtown. Scuppernong Books opened for business Dec. 21, and has quickly become one of the Piedmont’s literary centers, providing a unique meeting place for artists, writers, students and anyone who is passionate about books, art, food, and life. The bookstore hosts literary readings, live music, and lectures and is open seven days a week. The bookstore offers a wide selection of approximately 10,000 hand-picked quality titles that will impress even the most learned reader, and Scuppernong Books also displays and sells art from some of the region’s leading artists. Scuppernong is a place where people of all ages and backgrounds come to meet, browse, read, have engaging discussions, or just escape the daily grind and relax. “Scuppernong Books will capitalize on the rebirth of retail business on South Elm and on the growth of independent bookstores,” says co-owner Greg Grieve. “Other independent bookstores have successfully adopted this mixed use, café/bookstore model and we have learned from their successes.” Nationally, independent bookstores are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, with close to 1,900 stores across the country, according to the American Booksellers Association. Such stores often serve as anchors for downtown business districts, as they do in Durham, Asheville, and Chapel Hill, NC. “The independents that are succeeding offer a mix of author visits, staff recommendations and community outreach that's impossible to replace,” author Hilary Davidson noted in a CNN piece about thriving independent stores. Greensboro’s enthusiasm and support has been overwhelming. We hope that this is the beginning of a long and rewarding relationship between readers and Scuppernong Books. “We want to be an active component in the intellectual life of Greensboro, as well as a comfortable and kind place to land. What people are missing from the big chain bookstores is a sense of place, a sense that the store belongs to their community,” says co-owner Brian Lampkin.