Business
BY PATRICIA ORTIZ
Talking Animals Books opened its rst location in Grapevine in 2023 with the assistance of crowdfunding.
E. WORTH ST.
W. WORTH ST.
FIRST TALKING ANIMAL BOOKS LOCATION
SECOND TALKING ANIMAL BOOKS LOCATION
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103 W. Worth St., Grapevine 909 S. Main St., Ste. 104, Grapevine www.talkinganimalsbooks.com
Talking Animals Books o ers a variety of spaces for people to sit and relax or chat at the store.
PHOTOS BY PATRICIA ORTIZ COMMUNITY IMPACT
Talking Animals Books provides a space to build community in Grapevine Katy Lemieux and Valerie Walizadeh opened their independent bookstore, Talking Animals Books, two years ago with a dream and a crowd- funding campaign. The store has found success as the rst inde- pendent bookstore in Grapevine. Lemieux and Walizadeh said their store sells books and provides
book crawl in August for participants to discover other independent bookstores, and a Twilight watch party in October for the 20th anniversary of the book’s release. Stay tuned A second Talking Animals Books opened in Grapevine in November just a few blocks down from its rst location. Walizadeh said the hope is to keep both open for the time being. “I think [the rst] store has more of an oppor- tunity to be geared towards kids,” Walizadeh said. “The other store will be serving wine and co ee and will have a lot more open space.”
a third space, or a place separate from home and work where people can freely gather and socialize. What’s special about it? Talking Animals Books is located at Grapevine’s historic downtown in a building that used to be a bank. A teller’s station is now used as a reading nook for children who visit the store. “Bookstores tend to do better in more walkable areas,” Walizadeh said. “We have people who just stumble upon us.” Walizadeh said their employees also focus on building connections with customers, which helps in deciding how to curate the store’s selection. The owners organize events like the North Texas
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