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Harvard Book Store picks historic Union Street site for Boston expansion
The Cambridge bookseller plans to open a 3,500-square-foot shop at 33 Union St. this fall, alongside a Lakon Paris Patisserie café. The new location will add a children’s area and expand the store’s event offerings, though an exact opening date has not been set.
Harvard Book Store is preparing to open a second location at 33 Union St. in downtown Boston, bringing the Cambridge bookseller into a landmark district known for its historic street pattern.
The 3,500-square-foot bookstore is expected to open this fall in the Yankee Publishing Building, formerly home to the publishers of Yankee magazine. The Cambridge shop will remain the business’s flagship. Store officials have not announced a specific opening date.
The Boston location will share features with the Cambridge store, including exposed brick and large windows, but will also have a dedicated children’s section and a broader program of community events. The store plans to host gatherings such as book talks and events with wine; co-owner Jeff Mayersohn said the business will have a license to sell wine.
Lakon Paris Patisserie, which has four locations in Greater Boston, will operate a 1,500-square-foot café adjoining the bookstore. General manager Lisa Jayne said the partners saw the fit between books and coffee as a natural one.
Mayersohn and his wife, Linda Seamonson, have owned Harvard Book Store since October 2008, when they bought it from previous owner Frank Kramer. Mayersohn first became a regular customer after moving to Cambridge in the late 1960s to study physics at Harvard University. After further studies at Yale and a career at research and technology company Bolt Beranek and Newman, he retired and pursued his interest in running a bookstore.
The new site appealed to the owners for both its architecture and its place in the Blackstone Block, a designated Boston landmark area with a rare 17th-century street layout. Jayne said the group felt the space was right when they first visited it together.
The shop will carry many of the same book categories as its Cambridge counterpart, with adjustments for the smaller footprint, Jayne said. Harvard College senior Lilly Lee, who studies economics and French, welcomed the expansion as a sign that residents continue to support independent businesses.
Construction is underway, and the store says its bookcases and floors are in place. Mayersohn said the business hopes to build connections with its new neighbors and sees bookstores as places for community and the exchange of ideas.