By admin 
Suspension problems, rain and heat all stymied the To Be Read mobile bookstore recently, but there’s one thing that went off perfectly.
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The opening of the next chapter of the business — a brick and mortar bookstore in the Village of West Greenville.
The Village, about two miles from downtown Greenville, was called a neighborhood to watch by Forbes magazine five years ago.
Suffice it to say, people did more than watch. Today there are 150 or more stores, art galleries and restaurants in a vibrant arts district that some are even calling SoHo of Greenville.
To Be Read is owned by Jen Ostafinski, who moved to Greenville from Chicago in 2023. She had worked as a buyer for 20 years for retailers such as Sears, Coldwater Creek, and US Foods.
She knew she wanted to open a bookstore.
“I didn’t know who needed a bookstore, where needed a bookstore,” Ostafinski said. “My dad actually called me one day and was like ‘I have kind of a crazy idea: what about a book truck?’”
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She told South Carolina Voyager some friends helped her buy a truck on Marketplace.
Cleaning, painting, bookshelf building led to her first event in October 2023.
She’s been driving through Greenville County to events ever since — Gather Greenville, Liability Brewing, Swamp Rabbit Cafe. You name it, anywhere there are people who want to read.
But a bookstore not on wheels was always her dream.
It opened last weekend. She sells new and used books.
She hopes to be a place where people get together for book clubs or author readings.
“Or just come relax for a little while and get away for a moment from the stress of life,” she told South Carolina Voyager.
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