Newtown Bookshop Begins A New Chapter At The Village At Newtown South

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA - The Newtown Bookshop is settling into its new home at the Village at Newtown South just a few doors down from the Borscht Belt and not far from the Newtown Farmers Market.

After 23 years at the Village at Newtown shopping center at the other end of Eagle Road, owner Kathy Morrison and her employees packed up the store and moved down the street earlier this month beginning the next chapter in the shop's storied past.

"We're really excited about our new store," said Morrison. "We like the layout. It is more open. It's brighter. And it allows us to have more people at our events. It also allows us to see the whole store," said Morrison, explaining that their old location was separated into two distinct areas - the front end of the store and the back end.

The Newtown Bookshop at 2120 S. Eagle Road, Newtown. (Courtesy of Newtown Bookshop)

"This store is wide open," she continues. "It makes it look bigger even though it's a comparable size. And every book that was at the old store is over here. We have the same sections. It's definitely an updated look so it's more current. And we're really happy with the way it turned out."

Morrison, the third owner of the beloved local bookshop, is Newtown through and through. She has lived in Newtown since she was 12. She's a Council Rock graduate and so are her husband and her children. She also married a Newtown boy.

Morrison stepped in and bought the business 11 1/2 years ago after finding out the owner was considering selling or closing the business. "One thing led to another and I ended up buying it," said Morrison, who was working for the store at the time.

"One of the memories that was near and dear to my heart was standing in line with my children for the Harry Potter book release events. I just couldn't let the store close," she said.

Morrison tells the Patch the move was about positioning the store for future success and staying in Newtown. She's hoping to take advantage of the foot traffic at the shopping center and the visibility of the new store.

"We've been open a week. Our customers are finding us over here. We're seeing some new customers come in who didn't know us from the old shopping center," said Morrison. "We were tucked away in a corner over there. Now we're out in the open and people can see us clearly from the road that goes through the shopping center."

The Village at Newtown South has come a long way in a very short time. The addition of the Borscht Belt and the Newtown Beer Store in recent months and years has tripled the foot traffic at the shopping center, which is anchored by the Newtown Farmers Market, one of the town's most popular destinations.

The Newtown Bookshop is located at 2120 South Eagle Road, Newtown 18940. The store will celebrate its grand reopening on Oct. 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The children's section inside the new store. (Courtesy of the Newtown Bookshop)