Large windows overlooking the street beam sunlight onto exposed brick walls lined with bookshelves at Volumes Bookcafe in Wicker Park. Some patrons chat over coffee, while others browse a well-curated collection of books selected by sisters Rebecca and Kimberly George, who opened the store in 2016.
In a world where consumers often choose convenience over quality, cherishing local entities like Volumes Bookcafe is crucial. While online retailers like Amazon Books provide fast shipping and corporate chains like Barnes & Noble offer lower prices, they often lack the intimacy and sense of community that local bookstores offer.
As a result of this, consumer interest and support for independent bookstores has increased over time. According to a 2023 survey by the American Booksellers Association, the number of independent bookstore companies and locations in the United States has increased. In 2009, there were 1,401 companies and 1,651 locations. By 2023, those numbers rose to 2,185 companies and 2,599 locations. This highlights the rise in demand for small bookstores in the US, emphasizing their importance to book buyers.
Volumes, however, isn’t the only bookstore in their neighborhood, and far from the largest.
Wicker Park residents welcomed a new Barnes & Noble location down the road from Volumes Bookcafe on October 30, 2024, making it the second location to open in Chicago that year after the company’s Lincoln Park location.
The owners of Volumes Bookcafe were not startled in the slightest by their new corporate competition, though. Instead, they stood their ground, focusing on what sets them apart.
Whether it be holding author meet and greets or participating in the 2025 Chicagoland Indie Bookstore Day Crawl, Volumes Bookcafe is constantly looking forward to the next community-oriented event that they can participate in.
Rebecca George explained that organizing events is strategically planned and timely, using past events and current sales to predict each event’s success rate.
“There are a number of different ways that it happens. Publishers put out what they call ‘event grids’ about six to eight months ahead of schedule. Right now, there are ones for winter happening and we can go through them, and if they’re deciding they’re going to come to Chicago, we can all pitch the kind of event that we would do,” she said.
Events incorporating either genres of sci-fi fantasy or poetry have previously had high community attendance.
Rebecca added, “Every bookstore’s a little bit different in what kind of events they’re doing or how many. We also get approached by publishers or publicity people saying somebody wants to do an event here,” she said. “It’s not always a great fit, sometimes we say no. I kind of pick and choose what I think the neighborhood will respond to.”
Some of her favorite events included an all-day release party for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” midnight releases for author Rebecca Yarros’ latest books and even a special event with Hillary Clinton at the Auditorium Theater.
Alongside fun events for adult book lovers, Volumes Bookcafe also offers children’s story time every Tuesday and Saturday at 10:30 a.m., free of charge for parents. Donations are welcome, but not required.
“Watching the kids from my story time grow up and having the families remember me and still order books from us years later is really cool,” Kimberly George said. “People will pass me on the street and they’re like, ‘Look it’s the bookstore lady.’”
Even newcomers find themselves feeling completely immersed in the atmosphere Volumes Bookcafe provides.
First-time visitor Nicole Maas said, “My sister and I are having a little girl’s day and we’re just popping into some local shops, seeing what they’ve got to offer. I love this place. It’s like a local hideaway in a crazy big city.”
Since opening, the sisters have built a business driven not just by profit, but by a passion for books, community and meaningful connections.
As a result of the Georges’ previous careers, owning a bookstore came naturally to them.
“We were both teachers. The love of teaching and educating children and in both areas, even though we taught different age ranges, it was a success to us as if we could get the kid to appreciate and love reading,” said Kimberly.
Rebecca added, “Either way, you’re still selling books. As a teacher, you’re selling books [through] the value and the importance of words and language,” she said. “Here it’s the same thing, I’m selling you the value of art and these stories.”
Despite viewing sustainability as success, Rebecca also believed that success can come in a variety of forms.
“I think it’s success when you have a little kid who walks in here and knows exactly where to go. We’ve had engagements, we’ve had weddings and people just finding friends here. It’s really the relationships. It’s a community,” she said. “That always makes me feel like that’s a success. It’s definitely not financial, you don’t get into this business because you’re going to make money.”
This was apparent to the pair when first planning out their business. They knew that they wanted to include a café in the very beginning due to the margins for selling books not being as high. This way, they could combat lost revenue through coffee sales.
Rebecca said, “The coffee here brings people in. We have people who are in our loyalty program who’ve never bought a book, but they come in for coffee or tea.”
The owner compared corporate bookstores to her own business, highlighting one of the key differences that makes Volumes Bookcafe so unique and special to the book-loving community.
“People can sit, have conversation, and enjoy their book while they’re here. Whereas if you go to the thing I won’t talk about up the street (Barnes & Noble), they don’t even have chairs to sit in. One’s a welcoming environment and one’s like, get your things and leave,” she said.
Located at 1373 N. Milwaukee Ave., Volumes Bookcafe is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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