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How to Celebrate the Growth of Physical Bookstores
Some news in the bookselling world reminds you that physical bookstores are not just surviving in 2026. They are actually growing. Harvard Book Store just announced something that proves exactly that.
The beloved independent bookstore based in Cambridge Massachusetts is opening a second location in Boston this fall. For an industry that gets written off every few years as outdated this is the kind of story worth paying attention to.
Where the New Store Will Be and Why the Building Matters
A Historic Building With a Fitting Past
The new location will sit at 33 Union Street near Haymarket and Faneuil Hall in one of Boston’s oldest commercial districts known as Blackstone Block. The building itself has history built into its walls. It used to be the old Yankee Publishing Building which makes it a fitting home for a bookstore.
Co-owner Jeff Mayersohn visited the space early on and felt an immediate connection. The large windows and exposed brick reminded him of the original Harvard Square location which is now ninety four years old. Because both buildings come from roughly the same era he said the new space carries the same look, feel and overall vibe as the store everyone already knows and loves.
What Customers Can Expect Inside
This is not going to be a simple copy of the original store. The Boston location will include a cafe operated by the well known Lakon Paris Patisserie. Mayersohn joked that his own taste in pastries is fairly basic but he praised Lakon for pastries that look beautiful and taste even better.
The new space will also serve wine which the team has wanted to offer at author events for a while now. A dedicated children’s section is part of the plan too. Taken together these additions are meant to support a wider range of events for a wider range of people.
There is also a difference in what kind of books customers will find. The Cambridge store sits near Harvard University and naturally caters to a more academic and scholarly audience. The Boston location sits along the Freedom Trail so Mayersohn expects more general interest titles and a stronger focus on Boston history.
The original Cambridge store is not changing in any way. It remains the flagship location and will continue to house the company’s main office and central operations.
Why Harvard Book Store Decided to Expand
The Cultural Case for More Bookstores
When asked why the store wanted a second location Mayersohn gave a simple answer. More bookstores are always better for a community. He believes the free exchange of ideas matters and bookstores are one of the clearest physical representations of that exchange.
He also pointed to something many people have felt over the past several years. In an increasingly digital world a lot of people feel isolated. Bookstores offer something rare now which is a genuine in person community experience that cannot be replicated online.
The Business Case Behind the Decision
Beyond the cultural reasoning there was a clear business logic as well. The company already has a warehouse in Needham that has room to support more than one retail location. Expanding lets that infrastructure work harder without needing major new investment.
The store’s author events program has also been growing steadily. Harvard Book Store currently hosts close to four hundred author talks every single year and some of those events already happen on the same day across different spaces in Cambridge. A second location gives the program more room to grow.
And perhaps the clearest signal that this expansion makes sense came from the numbers themselves. Mayersohn shared that the store reported its highest revenue in its nearly hundred year history during the last fiscal year.
The Ownership Story Behind the Growth
This expansion comes more than four years after John Henry and Linda Henry became the principal owners of Harvard Book Store in 2021. The couple also owns Boston Globe Media and Fenway Sports Group which includes the Boston Red Sox.
Mayersohn described their involvement as coming at exactly the right time. The store had gone through difficult pandemic years and needed support. While the Henrys have plenty of other major business interests Mayersohn said they have remained genuinely involved in the decisions around this new location. He called the partnership fruitful and specifically mentioned that the Boston Globe has helped publicize store events.
A Previous Expansion Attempt That Did Not Work Out
Learning From the Prudential Center Setback
This is not the first time Harvard Book Store tried to grow beyond Cambridge. Back in 2022 the store announced plans for a second location inside the Prudential Center. That project was a twenty nine thousand square foot undertaking. By 2024 the company canceled it entirely citing supply chain disruptions and rising costs that made the project unsustainable.
That same period coincided with store workers who are unionized negotiating for higher wages. Workers had publicly asked for clearer and more consistent communication about the company’s expansion plans rather than learning details through occasional press releases.
How Things Are Different This Time
Mayersohn said staff are now being kept up to speed through regular meetings about the new Boston project. Employees have even taken organized trips to visit the new space before it opens. He acknowledged that canceling the Prudential project two years ago was disappointing but said it never reduced his enthusiasm for the bookselling business which he described as having thin margins even during the best years.
Reflecting on nearly two decades of ownership alongside his wife Linda Mayersohn said those years have been marvelous overall despite some genuinely difficult stretches. He was clear that the Prudential cancellation was tied to pandemic era conditions and had nothing to do with the fundamentals of running a bookstore.
Harvard Square Already Has a Thriving Bookstore Community
Independent bookstores are not in short supply around Harvard Square. Grolier Poetry Book Shop sits just around the corner. Rodney’s Bookstore specializes in used books. The Million Year Picnic focuses on comics and graphic novels. And Lovestruck Books opened more recently on Brattle Street and quickly built a devoted following.
Harvard Book Store expanding into Boston adds to a neighborhood and a city that already values books as part of daily life.
What This Growth Means for Authors and the Publishing World
Stories like this one matter for more than just local shoppers. Independent bookstores remain one of the most important places where new authors get discovered and where readers build genuine relationships with books rather than just clicking add to cart online.
A bookstore that hosts nearly four hundred author events a year and is now expanding to host even more is a bookstore that authors should want to be part of. It represents exactly the kind of community and visibility that a well published book deserves.
At Rockefeller Publishing we believe in the same idea that drove Harvard Book Store to open a second location. More places where readers and authors can connect in person make the entire industry stronger. We work with authors across the United States to help their books reach exactly that kind of audience through professional publishing support designed to get your work in front of real readers.
