Photograph by Sarah McCosham
The last Saturday in April is “Independent Bookstore Day,” but Cincinnati holds space for independent bookstores 365 days a year. Our city has long been lauded as a destination for bibliophiles. Between our massive library system, bevy of independent bookstores, and unique spaces like the Lloyd Library and Museum and Mercantile Library, there’s a world of wonder for book lovers to unlock in Cincinnati.
Household Books is certainly part of this narrative, and its story unfolds like a captivating novel, full of twists and turns and foreshadowing. During the pandemic, Bobby Minelli, the social media director of the Friends of the Public Library Used Bookstore at the Warehouse created The Garage, a small, arthouse-inspired space with carefully curated bookshelves that opened as the result of a massive fire at the Warehouse. The Garage came in clutch during the pandemic, as Bobby was able to pivot The Garage to an open-air space with an ever-changing selection of media that had been carefully cleaned and quarantined (remember that?).
Photograph by Sarah McCosham
As the world reopened, slowly, post-pandemic, The Garage closed its doors, but Bobby saw potential. Riding off the success of The Garage, Bobby opened Household Books in 2023, in an old storefront along Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills. In less than two years, Household Books became a household name, with the store attracting the most diverse and delightful cross section of Cincinnatians, all with a shared common ground: people who not only loved books, but the entire bookstore experience. The tactile, tangible, intoxicating physicality of print media.
Just like The Garage, though, Household Books was never meant to be permanent. The space (the rent!) was a lot to manage, so Bobby began searching for new digs. He found the perfect spot—a building in the College Hill business district with an angular entrance reminiscent of the Flatiron Building—and began the process of packing up the space Household Books had occupied for two years. He had help; on the final weekend of the Gilbert Avenue’s tenure, the shop was buzzing with folks eager to pay Bobby and the Gilbert Household Books their final respects…inventory was priced to sell (because anyone who’s ever moved boxes of books knows how onerous a task it can be).
Photograph by Sarah McCosham
On a sunny weekend in April—Independent Bookstore Day—Household Books 2.0 had a soft open. Walking into the bookstore, the sense of excitement was palpable; reminiscent of the anticipation of a Scholastic Book Fair. The bookstore felt familiar yet special, like a favorite cardigan. The space, while smaller, was perfect: carefully curated, a little edgy, but completely comfortable and lovely. Bobby made the rounds, sweater sleeves rolled up, smiling and warm, greeting everyone as friends.
With Household Books, Bobby Minelli has done the impossible: he’s created a brick-and-mortar bookshop in the era of digital media that’s unapologetically, unabashedly nostalgic, a community space where all are welcome (attracting college book clubs and 70+ poetry professors), a spirit of romanticism and promise that’s palpable. It’s 2025, and the world is a lot, but when you go into Household Books, you’ll find a lovely place that’s far greater than anything going on today. It’s magical and fantastic and bigger than whatever space it occupies.
Household Books, 5854 Hamilton Ave, College Hill
Facebook Comments