Jeannine A. Cook has found a permanent home for a bookstore backed by the Philadelphia, PA, community.
Cook owns Harriett’s Bookshop, named in honor of abolitionist and emancipator Harriet Tubman, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Cook initially envisioned pursuing a consulting business but later pivoted to selling books and ultimately opened the storefront in 2020.
She decided to try to buy the bookshop in 2022 and raised $75,000 in one weekend through a GoFundMe campaign, which later rose to $200,000 to support a down payment, the outlet notes.
Cook was hoping to secure ownership of the building after witnessing nearby business owners closing their doors due to the cost of rent. However, the building’s owner, Sang Casenta, did not have an interest in making the sale at the time.
“I couldn’t get this idea that I felt like a sharecropper out of my head,” Cook told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had a vision for something different, but I had no idea about how I was going to pull that off.”
Cook considered purchasing other buildings in nearby neighborhoods in Philadelphia but was unsuccessful, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. Fortunately, with time, Casenta had a change of heart, and they entered into negotiations in spring 2024.
“If anyone was going to buy this building from me, I wanted it to be her,” Casenta explained to the outlet. “There is always a lot of excitement in her shop.”
With a $700,000 purchase, Cook made the building, located at 258 E. Girard Avenue in Philadelphia, the permanent home of Harriett’s Bookshop on Aug. 6, 2024.
“I’m still in shock,” Cook expressed to the outlet. “I’m so excited that people are excited. I hope it ignites a faith for people to go forward with their dreams. It’s really about putting one foot in front of the other.”
The future of Harriett’s Bookshop is bright. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Cook plans to renovate the building, including maintaining a garden and three apartments available to rent. She also intends to open a cafe.
“Up until now, Harriett’s has been a gallery space,” Cook explained to the outlet. “In this next iteration, she will feel more like a home.”
Cook is also the owner of a separate bookshop, Ida’s Bookshop, located in Collingswood, NJ. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, it was on the brink of closing in January 2024 until the community rallied behind the store and raised more than $23,000 through GoFundMe.
“We met the goal. $23,000+ raised for another year in our current location at Ida’s Bookshop while we work to purchase a permanent space in Collingswood. This was done in less than a week,” Cook shared on Instagram. “A HUGE testament to your SHOWING UP in so many ways on behalf of yourselves, each other, us, and the future.”
