The pop-up bookshop in Habit Coffee is ‘connecting people through books’
Photo courtesy of Talia Freimanis and Michael Pollard.
Tucked in the back of Habit Coffee’s Chinatown location sits Alphabet City Books, a pop-up bookstore stocked with a carefully curated selection of used books.
Alphabet City was co-founded by Talia Freimanis and Michael Pollard, who have over three decades of combined experience in bookstores and libraries.
Freimanis and Pollard told the Martlet that, while opening a bookstore had been in the back of their minds for some time, it became a more serious idea in spring 2023. Pollard estimates that since 2023, they have collected around 15 000 volumes, though said they stopped counting after 12 000 and have acquired many more books since.
“The easiest bit about imagining starting a bookstore,” Freimanis said, “is just collecting the books.”
From the beginning, Freimanis and Pollard, a two-time UVic grad, knew they wanted to open their bookstore in Victoria rather than Vancouver, where they were living in 2023.
They said they landed on the concept of a pop-up primarily out of necessity, because finding commercial space in Victoria is challenging.
Before moving back last fall, Pollard reached out to Habit owner Shane Devereaux about a temporary pop-up for the holidays in December; with Devereaux’s support, the month-long pop-up became a permanent fixture, as the search for retail space continued.
Freimanis and Pollard told the Martlet that Devereaux has given them “free rein” with the pop-up, creating the opportunity to test their ideas in a low-risk environment.
“He took a chance on us, and that’s just a gift,” Freimanis said.
Pollard and his brother custom built the shelves, one of which is designed to display books with their covers facing outwards.
After years of searching, Freimanis and Pollard revealed that they have secured a retail space downtown for Sept. 1. Their new location, like the pop-up, will be primarily second-hand books, though they plan to also keep a small selection of new books.
“Used books [are] kind of more our bread and butter, and more what we’re interested in,” Freimanis said, adding that with the cost of books continuing to rise, they want to maintain their commitment to making them accessible by selling used books.
They will also be purchasing used books from people in exchange for cash or store credit.
They plan to create a small space with an intentional, curated book selection, a goal their new 950-square-foot storefront will help accomplish. The pair don’t have plans to expand to multiple locations in the future, either. Instead, Freimanis told the Martlet that they “just want to do a little thing really well.”
Pollard added that they hope to be a “community hub … [that is] connecting people through books.”
Thanks to their shared bookselling experience, the pair recall many of the titles people ask for most often. Freimanis said they want to primarily offer books that “last the test of time,” rather than what is popular at the moment.
Freimanis said that one of her favourite parts of the pop-up has been the people who make zines and other creative projects asking if they can display work there.
“Because we are the bosses, we can just say yes,” she said. “It’s fun to just see what people are making and what they bring us.”
“People have left their own publications,” Pollard shared. “They just kind of interfiled them with the books.”
One of their most unexpected moments so far was meeting author and historian Dr. Quinn Slobodian.
“I have read a couple of his books and loved them,” Pollard said. “He was just sitting around the corner, so I grabbed his book and … got him to sign it, and that was pretty exciting for me.”
“We have a few hundred books, and what are the odds that the author of one of the books we’re carrying is just having a coffee?” Freimanis added. “So of course, we bothered him.”
They hope to open their new storefront in early November, but in the meantime, the pop-up location will continue. Pollard also hopes to keep the used bookshelf in Habit even after opening their own location.
You can browse their carefully curated used books at Habit seven days a week. On Sundays, Freimanis and Pollard come in from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a selection of brand new books. Select books are also available to purchase on their website.
