Vroman’s Bookstore (Photo – @vromansbookstore).
Significant changes are coming to Vroman’s, the venerable bookstore that is undergoing a facelift of sorts.
By Garrett Rowlan
The most significant change is the recently announced decision to convert part of the front section of Vroman’s to a wine bar. Renovations are due to begin in February. The decision has caused consternation with the book groups who use that area to gather. They will be displaced and currently there’s no viable alternative other than some ad hoc cubbyhole dependent on competing events.
While the installation of a wine bar is a way to keep the store profitable, still the optics of a wine bar—the hint of frivolity among the well-heeled—tends to suggest the atmosphere of a country club in the way that the adjacent Jones coffee bar doesn’t. Coffee shops have a certain cache, social but serious, even intellectual, in contrast to the cheese, crackers, and bubbly ethos of a wine bar.
Perhaps this is why Vroman’s has started a new kind of reading group, The Open Discussion Project, that kicks off on February 17. The first book to be discussed will be Give Us The Ballot by Ari Berman, about the transformation of America through the Voting Right’s Act. Community members from across the political spectrum are encouraged to attend.
Where they will meet in the store is not stated at this time.
Give Us the Ballot By Ari Berman Date/Time Sunday, February 17, 2019 - 3:00pm Location 695 E. Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91101
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion By Jonathan Haid Date/Time Sunday, March 3, 2019 - 3:00pm Location 695 E. Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91101
With this latest change by Vroman’s Bookstore, maybe there’s now hope for bars to clear some room for #book #reading groups!
Well, unless you want yet another staple of Pasadena to go the way of Barnes and Noble and Borders, we should allow them to do whatever they want.
Loving the comment re “frivolity” of a wine bar as compared to the “intellectual” vibe of a coffee bar. One can have serious conversations about books with a glass of wine just as well as with a cup of joe!
Denise Yuan absolutely agree! I’ve never had as stimulating a conversation over a cup of Joe as I have over a glass of Cab!
A wine bar?
eye roll