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A Novel Cafe and Bookstore To Open on Tewksbury Thoroughfare
The Tewksbury Patch has a very interesting story in its business beat section today – “A Novel Cafe: A Novel Idea” –
Look for a new store to be opening in the next few weeks at 464 Main St. in Tewksbury.
A Novel Café, the brainchild of Marc and Leisa Ginsburg, is an independent bookstore and coffee shop. Apart from a selection of books and magazines, the location also will have a gift shop and a café.
The cafe – located in refurbished historical building, the Hardy-Pike house, built in 1740 – is a gem and the third oldest building in town. With its location it’s no surprise that the building was an important way station for stagecoaches travelling between Boston and Nashua, NH.
Plans for the new enterprise make it look like an inviting and comfortable place for locals and visitors, book lovers and coffee cravers and those who appreciated saved and restored buildings with a touch of local history.
Stay tuned as we follow A Novel Cafe until the doors open and beyond. The Ginsbergs are important players in Tewksbury town and civic life. We anticipate many events and community activities at the Cafe – novel and otherwise.
Check out the story here at the Tewksbury Patch.
Thanks for the update, Marie. I have been anxiously awaiting the place to open; I check it out every time I go by doing errands and whatnot. There are simply not enough bookstores in the world. Oh sure, I buy books on line like everyone else, but I LOVE browsing actual books and often buy them that way as well.
[…] For more information check-out Joyce Tsai’s article in today’s Lowell SUN here and my October post here. […]
“The first coffeehouse or kaveh kanes opened in Mecca and quickly spread throughout the Arab world (15th century), thriving as places where chess was played, gossip was exchanged and singing, dancing and music were enjoyed. Nothing quite like this had existed before: a place where social and business life could be conducted in comfortable surroundings (The Story of Coffee par.3).” Coffee wasn’t bought to America until 1668, and it became popular right away. “The first literary reference to coffee being drunk in north America is from 1668 and, soon after, coffee houses were established in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other towns (The Story of Coffee par.4).” Today there are coffee shops in every city in the United States.
A Novel Café, a new coffeehouse that just opened right here in Massachusetts, has all of the aspects that the great coffee shops had back in the 15th century: a place where social and business life could be conducted in comfortable surroundings. A Novel Café has it all, a great ambiance, good food/drink and great pricing. A Novel Café is located right off the highway so it’s in a great location and the décor is beautiful, exposed wooden beams and big comfortable couches and an overall sophisticated look.
The building of A Novel Café is a big deal to many, and I can see why,its beautiful and historic. The layout is also ideal,“The Hardy-Pike portion of the store contains the main entrance and the bookstore side of the shop. The right side of the building is the addition, and it comprises a large open café with approximately a dozen tables, a rack for magazines, and the restrooms and kitchen. The entire addition is fronted by a new fireplace and mantle. Leisa Ginsburg has worked to keep the historical charm of the original building. The dark wood beams of the Hardy-Pike house are original and prominent, along with the six fireplaces in the bookshop. Hardy-Pike house also still rests upon its original foundation. ‘We saved everything we could,’ she said of the renovation.”(Schillemat par.5-6)
The ambiance of A Novel Café is astounding, dim lighting in the café matched with a roaring fire and background music lays a path for relaxation. The décor is beautiful as well, exposed beams, pictures and fireplaces in every room. The building dates back to the seventeen hundreds and is one of the oldest buildings in Tewksbury; it’s still on the original foundation and the fireplaces unique to the building and style. “We made it warm and cozy so people will want to come and spend time here brewing (Schillemat par. 15),” says the owner, Lisa Ginsburg, and she succeeded because it’s always busy.
The menu at A Novel Café is very simple yet elegant. There are sandwiches, soups, and salads to choose from and it’s all made from scratch every day. And then there’s the coffee shop, which includes any and all coffee drinks you could think of, and they are all made to order. “Coffee drinkers can look forward to a superb, fresh cup of coffee with beans that are ground in the café directly prior to brewing (Schillemat par. 15).” So not only is the coffee fresh but it’s delicious, “The Latte was excellent, but no less expensive than Starbucks. Of course Starbucks doesn’t have the ambiance that the Novel Cafe has. (bferrari par. 10)”
The pricing at A Novel Café is another reason why I love it. Now it’s not as cheap as Dunkin Donuts, but not much more. And it’s also not as expensive as Starbucks. Choosing to go to the least expensive, Dunkin Donuts would be silly. There you don’t get a comfortable chair or couch, you don’t get a book store and restaurant in the same place. There is no comparing a Dunkin Donuts or a Starbucks to A Novel Café, A Novel Café has so much more to offer then any of the other coffeehouse chains. Not only is the building warm and inviting, but so are the employees, which results in a wonderful experience.
Some people say that the location of A Novel Café is not ideal because it is located by a Dunkin Donuts, but I disagree. A Novel Café is located on Main Street, a very busy street, and it is right off the highway and it has a lot more charm then Dunkin Donuts so if people were choosing between Dunkin Donuts and A Novel Café, I think the choice would be clear. Therefore I believe the location is very ideal. It has also been said that A Novel Café is not very child friendly because of the fireplaces and the classy atmosphere. And yes this is true, A Novel Café was not created for children, it is mostly an adult coffee shop, but children are welcome and would be completely safe. The bookstore and Café are separated and some think this is a step in the wrong direction. I don’t believe this to be true, it is a good idea to separate the Bookstore from the café because it reduces the risk of damage to books or gifts from coffee or other food items.
At a Novel Café you can always trust that the service will be great. The employees are extremely nice and are always smiling, and there’s nothing they won’t do to make your experience at A Novel Café better. Excellent customer service skills are part of the job description. A Novel café is a great place to go for a cup of coffee or a quick lunch. Between the food and coffee, price and service, and the atmosphere, you can’t go wrong. A Novel Café has it all, a great ambiance, good food/drink and great pricing.