A mother-and-daughter team is opening Denton鈥檚 first book bar in January with an exclusive focus on the romance genre.
鈥淲e are a bookstore that happens to have a bar in it,鈥 owner Dawn Conner said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not a bar that sells books. Our focus is on putting the authors out here that people want to see, and supporting those local authors.鈥
Her daughter and store manager, Darci Middleton, who spent five years working as a teacher and coach, was always an avid reader.
鈥淢om and I bonded back in the Twilight era,鈥 Middleton said. 鈥淪o, that鈥檚 kind of where our [love for] reading together began.鈥
Middleton said she has fond memories of getting together with friends to read, drink and talk about books. She approached her mom, who had been working as a real estate agent, with the idea to create a book bar.
The Plot Twist initially started as a pop-up business in July. After working at a few markets, they moved into a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Denton in November. The space at 227 W. Oak St. was the longtime site of A Creative Art Studio and was most recently home to Aerose Artistry.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a great support system just through word of mouth and social media,鈥 Middleton said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檇 be here without all their generosity and their help that they鈥檝e put into sharing our passion.鈥
The Plot Twist will sell a wide spectrum of romance books, from the lighthearted to the dark and mysterious. The store will also highlight local authors.
The mother-daughter team is currently renovating the store, with a focus on creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere.
鈥淚 myself am very introverted and have social anxiety,鈥 Middleton said. 鈥淪o, a goal of mine was to reach more people and to gain more friends and to get out of my comfort zone.鈥
As part of their effort to create community, the Plot Twist will host events each month.
They鈥檝e already started hosting a book club, where readers can gather to discuss a different romance book each month. Readers also have the option of subscribing to a monthly book club box, which includes the club鈥檚 chosen book and other goodies like bookmarks and a themed mocktail recipe card.
Middleton and Conner each had their own reasons for wanting to specialize in selling romance books. Middleton said she has a personal love for romance books.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been a romantic person myself,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o, when I can see that in a book, I feel like I just connect more to it.鈥
She also said books in the genre are not just about romantic love 鈥 they often feature protagonists learning to love themselves and discovering who they are.
Conner, meanwhile, is more focused on the business perspective. She pointed out that romance is currently the most popular book genre and said finding a niche is important when creating a new business.
鈥淚f somebody needs romance, they鈥檙e going to know to come to us, right?鈥 Conner said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e not just about romance. We鈥檙e about thriller romance, we鈥檙e about Christianity romance, [and] we鈥檙e about LGBTQ romance. There鈥檚 so many subgenres.鈥
The Plot Twist will be the third bookstore in the downtown Square area, joining Recycled Books, Records & CDs and Patchouli Joe鈥檚 Books & Indulgences. Conner said this is good for all three businesses because if readers come to the Square to visit one store, they will likely want to visit the other two as well.
鈥淢ore bookstores bring in more book lovers,鈥 Conner said.
The mother-daughter team is looking forward to the store鈥檚 grand opening on Jan. 18 and the many other events to follow.
鈥淚 know there鈥檚 so many people out there who love to read, who maybe ... have a hard time talking to other people about what they鈥檙e reading or just making friends in general,鈥 Middleton said. 鈥淸Our goal is] to bring a community of book lovers together.鈥
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