Owner Kate Branch said the new store fills the community's need for an independent bookstore that was left void after the closing of the Intimate Bookshop a few years ago.
A Durham native, Kate Branch left her demanding job as a New York City attorney to start the bookshop. "I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something with my family," she said.
The store also will employ her mother, Pat, and her brother, Dan, she said.
Chapel Hill is an ideal location for a family owned, independent bookstore, Kate Branch said.
"I think Chapel Hill is really a community that will support an independent bookstore," she said.
Branch's will focus on catering to the specific demands of the Chapel Hill community, Kate Branch said.
"We're trying to learn what people around here want," she said. "If we don't have something they want, we can order it for them."
The store is a member of BookSense, an organization that compiles a list of best sellers according to actual retail sales of books instead of wholesale numbers. This allows the store to get a more accurate measure of what customers really want, Kate Branch said.
Branch's employee Lisa Amundson said the store keeps a wide variety of books in stock, including children's books, a Spanish section and a regional authors section.
Branch's offers a relaxed atmosphere, serves Fair Trade coffee and tea and has a lounge for reading, Kate Branch said.
The new store also includes a reading room that will host children's story readings, author readings, poetry sessions and possibly live music, said proprietor Dan Branch.
He said the store's high ceilings offer wall space that will soon feature the work of local artists.
"As a service to the community, we'd like to have a place for local artists to show their work," he said.
Despite the difficult economic climate and competition from larger chain bookstores in the area, Kate Branch said the store, with its emphasis on individual customer attention, will not have any trouble finding a loyal customer base in Chapel Hill.
The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.
