Reads & Company: A New Chapter Begins In Phoenixville on May 10

In just a few days, Phoenixville will be home to a brand new business, a bookstore! Reads & Company company comes to us from Robb Cadigan and Jason Hafer, and we are all super excited to walk through these doors to the literary treasures beyond. 

Merch!

I was thrilled to have a quick Q&A with Robb and Jason in the middle of the craziness while they prepare for their opening on May 10 at 10am.

Q: What is your biggest challenge right now?

A: Right now we have hundreds of boxes containing thousands and thousands of beautiful books that we’re excited to begin shelving. Organizing the carefully curated collection that is at the heart of Reads & Company is our primary focus for opening day.

Q: How are you different from other bookstores?

Reads & Company is a community-minded bookstore. We mean it. On the shelves, of course we’ll have our staff picks and recommendations, but we will also feature picks from members of our community – people like the Mayor, the Chairman of the Board of the Historical Society, teachers and students from local schools, and our customers.

Jason and Robb's first shipment has arrived!

Also, along with well-known favorite authors, we will seek out and feature emerging authors whose work we find to be exceptional. Store sales, author events, and mini-residencies will help establish a base for emerging authors in Phoenixville.

Beyond our bookshelves, Reads & Company will feature a great selection of unusual and hard-to-find "non-book” items that will appeal to our fellow book lovers.

Q: Why should we visit Reads and Co?

A: We want you to walk into Reads & Company and feel like you’re walking into a bookstore that might have been around for fifty years. 

With portions of exposed brick, historic lighting elements, an ornate ceiling, and skylights, the physical space itself will create a warm and inviting ambiance. The design elements we’ve added, like new ceiling fans, new flooring, and additional lighting, will echo the charm of the location's history.

Q: What are you both most excited about?

A: Jason says he is most excited about being able to provide a community with something of true and lasting value. Books are gifts from authors to their readers, and to help the two find each other is also a gift.

A: Robb says, as a working writer who is devoted to the craft, I know what it means to spend years alone in your room pouring your heart and soul into a story. As a bookseller, I will be an ardent advocate and bridge between the authors I know and read and the readers who will love them. 

Historical building touches add character.

Q: What can a Phoenixville resident- or anyone with a love of books and bookstores- expect when visiting Reads & Company?

A: Like every aspect of Reads & Company, our unique approach to shelving and layout is meant to enhance the book browsing experience. 
For instance, nonfiction will be shelved by type. “Hard” nonfiction like history, biography and science will be in the same area. 

Religion, new age, philosophy and other books that help us find personal truths will be together. We’ll have this great section of cooking, poetry, gardening, plays, music and more – the things that enrich our lives – in a bright transitional space in the store.

Another Reads & Company distinction is that our Young Adult (YA) section is not a part of our kids’ section. It is important to us that when somebody browsing the YA section turns around, they’ll be looking at the end of our fiction section, not picture books, which we believe is more appropriate and respectful to YA readers.

Q: How did you and Jason find each other…and then decide, yeah it’s time for a bookstore?

A: We met many years ago when Robb walked into Jason’s former bookstore with a first edition of John Irving’s THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP under his arm. (He was going to meet John Irving the next day at an event and he wanted some advice about the book.) 

Robb became a regular customer at Wolfgang and we soon discovered we had a shared love of crime fiction, strong writing, book clubs, and the town of Phoenixville.

From time to time, we talked — daydreamed, really — about maybe one day opening a bookstore together. Over the years, we watched carefully as Phoenixville went through its renaissance and more and more businesses started to flourish. Then our daydreams got more serious when 234 Bridge Street, a perfect location directly across from The Colonial Theatre, became available.

JASON HAFER is the former owner of the beloved Wolfgang Books in Phoenixville. With a long career in bookselling, Jason brings extensive bookstore expertise, a heart for customer service, and a genuine desire to help readers find just the right book. Wolfgang customers know that Jason has a knack for recommending your next great read.

OPEN MAY 10!

ROBB CADIGAN is the author of the popular novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING, and a former Television/Marketing executive at QVC. Robb is a devoted student of the writing craft, an unabashed fanboy of great stories, and a Forrest Gump of the literary world, with connections and friendships with an impressive group of bestselling and emerging authors around the world.

Q: Anything else us Phoenixville residents should know? 

A: When people see Reads & Company’s selection, they will find diverse representation throughout our shelves. 

If somebody in our community wants to find a book that will interest them, we want to be a viable option regardless of age, race, gender or sexual orientation. 
Many in our community are native Spanish speakers, so we will have a Spanish-language section.

Reads & Company is located at 234 Bridge Street in Phoenixville, across from The Colonial Theatre. 

All photos courtesy of Robb and Jason, Reads & Company, used with permission from Robb Cadigan.

Thank you to Robb, Jason, and Nicolette Milholin. 

It’s No Secret Where to Go For a Great Breakfast in RoFo

About 20 years ago, Annamarie Hewitt Chestnut came home from cooking school for summer break. It had always been her dream to cook professionally, and she was studying to become a pastry chef. But on this break, she spied the space that is now her small but bustling breakfast-and-lunch establishment on the main drag of Royersford.

And to her surprise, acquiring that space made more financial sense than returning to school.

Now, so many years later, she’s confident she made the right choice in Annamarie's Place. “I just love cooking for people,” she says enthusiastically, and it shows. There’s a level of care and panache in her dishes that you just don’t find in many eateries—no matter the price tag.

Go for one of her signature stuffed French toast dishes: Blueberry, cherry, or another rotating flavor, and you’ll be the one who’s stuffed (and grinning from ear to ear). Don’t miss her benedicts—the hollandaise is always fresh and homemade, and the eggs are always perfectly poached. 

And you must try the breakfast nachos—an imaginative and delicious dish with homemade tortilla chips piled high with moist scrambled eggs, meat, chives, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Traditionalists won’t be disappointed either; her omelets are fluffy and delightful, filled to capacity with your favorite ingredients.

Annamarie’s is no secret to the Rofo locals—there’s usually a line out the door at peak times. But hang in there and your patience will be rewarded with a breakfast you’ll be talking about for weeks.

347 Main St 
Royersford, Pennsylvania 19468

Written and photographed by Stephen Trimble