It's been a general store, a barber shop and a clock repairshop.
Now new owners will refresh a 100-year-old building inHagerstown so they can refresh their customers.
Dreamweaver Books and the Bookmark Cafe, 65 W. Main St.,Hagerstown, are just 20 minutes away from Muncie. The bookstoreoffers more than 30,000 used books, including vintage paperbacks,classics, poetry, mystery, science fiction, romance, cookbooks andchildren's books. Right next door is the Bookmark Cafe, scheduledto open in early October, offering breakfast and lunch with avariety of sandwich offerings named after famous authors, as wellas gourmet coffees and specialty drinks.
The shop is owned by Jane Barrett and managed by Peter Brown,nephew of the owner.
"I bought the bookstore on a whim, but it is coming together andI think we have something that is fun and a great place to spend afew hours, browse, and even have a snack," Barrett said.
Barrett has always loved books and is an avid reader. When shelearned the bookstore was for sale, she decided to inquire, as shethought it would be a great business when she retired in a fewyears.
"It is even the birthplace of my mother's cat," Brown said. "Amother cat had kittens in the basement and she took all of themaway but the one my mother adopted."
"The beginning was very rocky," Barrett said. "There wereconflicts with my partners and I had to completely restructure thebusiness with my nephew filling in until we could find a manager."That was three years ago and Brown liked the business so much hedecided to stay. Brown is now a partner as well as the manager.
"It has been a true family endeavor," Brown said. "All thefamily has had a hand in making the business work. My sisterdesigned the logo, another sister assisted in assembling thefurniture for the cafe and my mother helped decorate."
The menu includes sandwiches with a theme; for instance, "TheErnest HAMingway" includes generous portions of shaved ham,provolone cheese and toppings served on sourdough bread.
The cafe will offer gourmet coffee from World Alliance Coffees.The beans are freshly roasted the day they are ordered to providethe freshest flavors. Specialty coffees will also be part of themenu. Dreamweaver Books and the Bookmark Cafe offer nostalgicphotos of early Hagerstown as part of the decor.
"There is something for every reader in the bookstore," Brownsaid. "We also research and find unusual books for ourcustomers."
Brown recalled searching for a book on genealogy for a customer.The search revealed there were only 12 copies in existence andBrown was able to secure a copy, the original of which is in amuseum in London. Brown also located a rare book to be given by abride to her new husband on their wedding day.
"We do a great deal of business with Internet customers," Brownsaid. "I have shipped books to Australia, Korea, Canada, France andEngland."
Dreamweaver Books also boasts an Internet terminal, the only onein the area. "We offer public Internet access, as well as being acopy center," Brown said. "We have both color and black and whitecopies as well as fax."
The bookstore is available for use by book clubs, discussiongroups, luncheon meeting groups, and for special events in theevening by appointment. Brown and Barrett believe that DreamweaverBooks and the Bookmark Cafe are unique and nostalgic.
"All we need are a few dozen bookworms," Brown said. All of thebooks in the store are listed on the Internet and can be viewed atwww.abebooks.com/home/DREAMWEAVER, the Web site for readers. Thee-mail address for Dreamweaver Books is dreamweaverbook@aol.com.The telephone number is 765-489-6212.
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