Having recently celebrated 18 years of owning Harvard Book Store, Jeff Mayersohn and his wife, Linda Seamonson, are preparing to open a second location in downtown Boston.
They plan to open the new store, at 33 Union St., this fall. The Cambridge location will remain the flagship.
After growing up as an avid reader in Flushing, New York, Mayersohn moved to Cambridge to study physics at Harvard University. It was there where he discovered Harvard Book Store.
“Once I moved to Cambridge in the late ’60s, I was a regular of the store,” he said.
After continuing his studies at Yale University and later working for Bolt Beranek and Newman, a research and technology company, Mayersohn retired, knowing that his true passion was owning a bookstore. In October 2008, his dream came to fruition when Frank Kramer, the previous owner, put Harvard Book Store up for sale.
“It was a miracle that our favorite bookstore became available just as I was entering the book world,” he said.
That miracle returned when Mayersohn and his team found 33 Union St.
Lisa Jayne, the general manager of Harvard Book Store, said when she walked into the space with both co-owners, they looked at each other and instantly knew this was where the second bookstore belonged.
“It’s just a beautiful building, and it just felt right,” she said.
The store will occupy 3,500 square feet in the Yankee Publishing Building, which once housed the publishers of Yankee magazine. The building sits in the heart of the Blackstone Block, a designated Boston landmark known for its rare 17th-century street pattern.
Mayersohn said he fell in love with the location for its rich history and its resemblance to the original bookstore in Cambridge — both have the same large windows and exposed brick walls.
“It was serendipity,” he said.
Harvard Book Store is also partnering with Lakon Paris Patisserie, a French cafe with four locations in Greater Boston, which will occupy 1,500 square feet of space adjoining the store.
“I think we just kind of fit together,” Jayne said. “Everyone loves coffee and books together.”
Though the Boston location will offer similar services to the Cambridge location, it will also have a dedicated children’s area and the cafe — both important additions to the new atmosphere, Mayersohn said.
Along with the cafe and children’s area, the new bookstore hopes to expand its event series — with events like wine and book talks — and connect with the local community around Union Street.
“We will have a license that will allow us to sell wine in the new store, both for our book events and for other occasions too,” Mayersohn said.
The new store will offer most of the same categories and sections of books as the Cambridge location, with some adjustments to fit the smaller space, Jayne said.
Lilly Lee, a senior studying economics and French at Harvard College, said she’s a big supporter of the bookstore expanding into Boston.
“I think the fact that the Harvard Book Store has remained and is able to expand means a lot that people in the community still care about supporting local businesses,” she said.
Bookstores provide community, and now more than ever is when we need a community built around the free exchange of ideas, Mayersohn said. But before the store opens its doors to its new neighbors, he said there’s still work to be done.
The Boston location doesn’t have an exact opening date, but Jayne said the store should open this fall.
“We’re making great progress in the construction. The bookcases are in, the floors are in, and we’re counting the days until the books start arriving,” Mayersohn said.
Owning a bookstore turned out to be far from the quiet retirement Mayersohn once imagined, but it’s still a wonderful way to spend his time, he said.
“I am, in many respects, along for the ride,” he said. “But it’s a really nice ride.”
This story is part of a partnership between WBUR and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom Initiative.