As a Latin-American who grew up in Miami, cafés are an important part of my upbringing. Coffee, tea, pastries, and croquetas–if I didn’t eat at una cafetería for brunch over the weekend, then I was stopping by one after school for a late day snack. These fantastic eateries are seen less and less frequently as you move further north, and if you do so happen to come across one in Central Florida or the panhandle, their quality seems to be subpar at best. (No offense to any owners of cafeterías north of West Palm, this is just an opinion shared by me and my family.)
Due to the absence of decent café options in my area, I’ve often fantasized about opening one of my own. Designing my own little coffee shop, going in early to bake pastries and doughnuts, coming up with creative flavor combinations for lattes and teas… Just the thought puts a smile on my face. Gah! I’m excited just writing about the idea, even though there’s no way I can pull this off.
In that same vein, I’ve always wanted to open up a local book shop. Just a mom-and-pop style little place; the front furnished with sofas and armchairs and floor cushions, while behind them the walls and aisles are filled to the brim with reading material. I want to suggest spellbooks and mystery novels to random passersby, offer an old worn encyclopedia on an obscure subject at a discount to a curious teenager, and spend my days petting the shop cat and sipping on coffee. That life sounds like heaven, and I would give anything to make it happen.
Thus, the conflicting shop names in the title. Should I live my little book store dreams and open a shop called The Gobbledy-Book Store? If you’ve read my series Weird: Book of Secrets, you would recognize that as one of the fictional businesses. Another fictional shop created for the series is Thanks-A-Latte Café, a coffee shop chain on par with Starbucks. I think the name is cute, and I think Gobbledy-Book is a creative pun–both business names were procured from theis Café Name Generator on Fantasy Name Generators, a website I use for inspiration whenever I need any kind of name. While some names are borrowed from baby name sites and mom lists, the majority are derived from fantasynamegenerator.com. Check out the site and support Emily, its creator! (Not in any way sponsored, I’m just a big fan and user of the site.)
Anyway, I’ve been considering merging my fantasies into one mega dream: what if I opened up a bookstore-café? Yes, I am aware that this is not a new concept, and that it has been done many, many times before, but that doesn’t diminish my dream in the slightest. I want to cater to Wiccans and anime nerds and rebellious teenagers seeking sanctuary from their bullies, both the ones in their classes and in their homes. I want to keep weird hours and have eye-catching curios and knick-knacks cluttered around the shop computer. I want tourists to walk in with the sole intention of asking for directions, only to get sidetracked by the featured series or the shop cat. (I really want a cat, you guys.)
This new dream comes with a problem, though: I want its name to reflect both sides of the operation. Something that tells customers that not only can they stop by for their morning joe and a danish, but they can also enjoy their breakfast while reading a book or magazine, or they can stop by on their way home from work and pick up a new novel as well as a box of croquetas to share with the family. New mothers can sip tea while reading parenting guides, and fathers can browse the children’s section for the most up-to-date, popular books that tackle complex topics in an age-appropriate and emotionally intelligent manner.
I just want to be known as the owner of that fun bookstore-café that the local high school’s book club likes to meet at. And that boostore-café will be called… Heck if I know. Thanks to that handy-dandy website I mentioned earlier, though, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite options for both cafés and bookstores (a couple of them might be combinations of names from one or both generators). Keep in mind that the names below could be followed by some combination of “bookstore,” “book shop,” “shop,” “store,” “café,” and so on.
- The Reading Nook
- Common Grounds
- Verbatim
- Hidden Oasis
- Novel Ideas
- Reader’s Haven
- Periodic Fables
- Brewed Awakenings
- Storybound
- Javawocky Coffee
- Bound to Please
- Divine Bites
- The Lore Keeper
- Hazelnut Bistro
- My Word!
- Pestle & Mortar (PM or PeMo for short perhaps?)
- Folklore
- Smooth Bliss (just Bliss for short)
- Second Story (possibly for a second location with a two-story layout)
- Mad Hat
Let me know which one is your favorite! If a few of them get enough mentions in the comments, then I might just post a poll on all my socials with just those popular options. Most importantly, I need to know–would you visit my bookstore café?
Thanks for reading!
– NP<3
Sisters of the Shadows 
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