As a lover of books, I like surrounding myself with more books than I’ll ever read in my life. I admit I haven’t been able to finish a book since 1984. Not the year, the title. The year was 2015. But that’s beside the point.
The good news is that Black Squirrel Books & Espresso Bar can help with my obsession. They quickly adapted to the quarantine situation and figured out a way to keep their doors open by setting up an easy virtual book browsing experience. And while many of the big retailers like Chapters are now starting to re-open, local bookstores still need our support to help keep the lights on.
Black Squirrel Books & Espresso Bar post a list of books available for pick-up on their Instagram every day.
If you see a book you like, slide into their DMs and let them know which book you want, and they will put it on hold for you. If you’re craving some iced coffee or an espresso shot to go with your book order, they have also set up an impromptu take-out setup for their espresso bar, operating every day from 11 – 5 PM.
How it works: pre-order and pre-pay your drink order on their website for a completely contactless transaction. Your order will be ready in 15 minutes. You’ll receive a notification when it’s ready for pick-up. If this isn’t an option, you can drive up to the curb and call them at 613-422-9050 to place your order right then and there (the menu will be posted on the window) and a wireless debit/credit machine will be brought to you.