Get ready, Petworth, generous donations pending, you're about to get a whole lot more literary. In April, Paul Ruppert of Room 11 fame announced his new pet(worth) project: a local bookstore called Upshur Street Books adjacent to another of his restaurants, Petworth Citizen. Although, the bookstore had originally gunned for a late summer opening, construction is still underway and their Kickstarter will be live through September 20. At publishing time, D.C.'s first new brick-and-mortar bookstore in over two decades has raised $6,711, over one third of the way toward their $17,000 goal.
Both Ruppert and designer Nick Pimentel speak in the Kickstarter video (seen in full after the jump) about their plans for the old 1920s building. Pimentel expresses his hopes to expose the tin ceiling and some old windows as he had at nearby Ruppert-owned restaurant Crane & Turtle. Meanwhile, Ruppert states, "It's something that we love doing which is taking buildings that have been here for a long time...and giving them a new use so they can live on for years and years."
· A New Independent Bookstore (Gasp!) Is Coming to Petworth [WCP]
· Upshur Street Books by Paul Ruppert [Kickstarter]
· Upshur Street Books [Official Site]