Beans & Books doubles in size

Beans & Books Coffeehouse in Shawano has gone from “medium” to “grande.” The bookstore and coffee shop, 1235 E. Green Bay St., Shawano, expanded and celebrated with an open house last week. The expansion was made possible when the business next door, Game Stop, closed, allowing Beans & Books to move into the empty space. “We’ve doubled in size,” owner Karen Benishek said, waving at display racks of new and used books, “and this side is books.” Beans & Books had specialized in used books in the past, but Benishek said the closing of Book World downtown and continuing interest in books that aren’t housed on an electronic pad or phone, helped make the decision to expand the “real” book options. “Statistically, books are doing better than they were; we’ve seen an increase in sales,” she said. The book store offers a selection of new titles and an expanded selection of used books. “We used to take only books less than 10 years old,” she said. “Now we can take classics and series books that are popular.” The store gives a credit for used books, which can be used in the store. Although they will say “no” to some types of books, such as romance novels or old texts, true crime stories are currently very much in demand, she said. Details on the book credit program are available at the stop, she said. In addition to book sales, a meeting room is available to the public. Benishek hopes start a book club at the shop and has a summer reading program for children ready to launch. The shop continues to provide coffee and sandwiches in the original side of the building. A drive-thru continues to be available. That’s been here since the shop opened 15 years ago, Benishek said. She and her husband, Jim, bought the business three years ago. The “beans” in Beans & Books is Steep N Brew coffee. Benishek said she plans to hold “coffee cuppings,” which is something like a wine tasting, but with coffee instead of wine in the cup. Book signings and other special events will continue to be held, and dates can be found on the shop’s Facebook page, she said.