The Story Cellar turns a new page in downtown Wausau

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

July 6, 2026

WAUSAU – A new chapter begins for The Story Cellar as it crosses the river and reopens in the heart of downtown Wausau.

“We really wanted to move closer to downtown,” Owner Laura Spaeth said. “Technically, we’re in downtown right now. We’re across the river [on the west side], and we wanted to stay in the [Wausau] River District.”

With a “tentative” reopening set to coincide with the next Wausau Night Market July 16 – “fingers crossed, all is well” – Spaeth said she and her husband discovered the 416 N. 3rd St. location while out with friends a couple of months ago.

“My husband, me and some of our friends had been [out] to dinner downtown one night,” she said. “We walked by, and there was just a little sign taped in the window [that said] ‘for lease’ with the phone number. [I] called it that night.”

Though, admittedly, moving locations was not part of her initial five-year business plan, Spaeth said unforeseen issues with the terms of her current lease led her to consider the possibility.

“A lot of people really love our current space,” she said. “It’s a really cool building, and it was not in our five-year plan to move, so I think it’s important that people know this wasn’t necessarily our choice, but I think it’s for the better anyway.”

After calling the number for the new place, Spaeth said the process of signing her new lease moved “pretty fast.”

“He emailed me back the next day,” she said. “We did a tour, and [papers were signed] within a week or so.”

Now, following its official last day at 205 Callon St. July 3, Spaeth said she and her staff – as well as her family – are working to bring The Story Cellar’s new space from fiction to fact after an “incredibly daunting” move.

“When you start a new business, there are a lot of moving parts that are based on your location and your current operating costs, etc.,” she said. “So, that was a pivoting point for us, but it also opened up a lot of possibilities. Now, we know we have a proof of concept [for] the store, so where can we take it from here?”

Books for cash, or more books?

Spaeth said The Story Cellar’s relocation to the east side of Wausau’s River District gives her “a lot of confidence” for the bookstore’s ongoing success.

“[We’re just] moving what we’ve established closer to the heart of the downtown area,” she said.

Spaeth said The Story Cellar first opened in November 2024, after she decided to turn her passion for literature into a business.

“I’ve been a graphic artist for the last 20 years…, but I have always been a book nerd,” she said. “I went to college for English [and] have always really enjoyed reading and writing. I felt like a used bookstore was something the area needed, and why not? Why can’t it be me?”

Owning and operating a business by herself, Spaeth said, wasn’t new territory either – making her decision to open The Story Cellar easier as well.

“I’ve always worked for other companies until 2018 when I had my second child,” she said. “Then I went full-time freelance, and have been [operating] my own graphic design studio since then, primarily [serving] the food and beverage [industry]. So, owning my own business wasn’t necessarily new to me.”

Spaeth said Wausau’s active book community inspired her to create a space offering reader-curated merchandise and events. 

“There’s definitely lifelong readers, but I feel like reading took a resurgence after COVID-19, when everything was shut down,” she said. “TV shows weren’t coming out with new seasons, so people were turning to books again, which was amazing. So, we really found a niche in providing a book club to the area that anybody could join.”

Beyond its now mainstay book club, Spaeth said The Story Cellar has also hosted literary-themed craft nights, author readings and book signings in addition to its popular buy-sell business model for gently loved books.

“We’re one of the only stores in the area that buys used books for cash,” she said. “So, we have a lot of people who come in [with] their books and use them almost like coupons – [they] either get cash or get new books back.”

Spaeth said The Story Cellar specializes in “higher-quaility, newer [and] used books.”

“[When] you come into our store, you will find things that just came out this year or last year, or best sellers – stuff like that, is what we really cater to,” she said. “That’s been a really big draw, because people appreciate that they can come to our store and find something that’s on their current TBR (to be read) list.”

Spaeth said she also stocks new titles from local authors – adding that she has “been really lucky” regarding the local support The Story Cellar’s events have enjoyed.

“Our events typically sell out within a day, sometimes two, [but] they sell out pretty quickly,” she said. “The book club has grown to where we have to have three nights a month now. We usually get a turnout of anywhere from 10-20 people per night, and we have about 500 online group members.”

‘Bittersweet’ upgrades

The Story Cellar’s forthcoming home on 3rd Street, Spaeth said, was left in “really good shape” by its previous tenants – making for an easier renovation period.

“The previous tenant had done a really great job of restoring the floors and restoring the tin ceilings,” she said. “There were a few minor things we did, some paint and a little bit of the flooring in one of the back rooms. Then we painted the lower level, because we kind of have this vibe at our current store in our basement. It’s sort of this dark, loungy area, so we recreated that in the new space.”

Though she’s The Story Cellar’s sole owner, Spaeth said she is supported by her family and a staff of three part-time employees.

“[My] employees are absolute rock stars – me and two of them moved like three couches and four bookcases yesterday,” she said. “I have amazing staff and an amazing family helping.”

Calling on the talents of the same Marshfield-area woodworker she employed to construct her first check-out counter for help, Spaeth said the new space includes 13 custom-built bookshelves.

“That’s probably the biggest custom thing we’re having done,” she said.

Spaeth said The Story Cellar’s former storefront was a bit more compartmentalized as compared to the open floor plan of its new space, giving her more flexibility with the layout.

She said the opening of The Story Cellar in 2024 was a bit rushed – so she initially resorted to thrifting furniture for her shop.

“From the time I really conceptualized the idea, a month later, I had my first pop-up [event],” she said. “Then a few weeks later I was signing a lease, and within 30 days of that I was opening a store… So, now, I have the opportunity to really do it a little bit better from the start, and custom bookshelves were what I really wanted to [include] in the new space.”

Though her new storefront is only about 500 square feet more than her former location, Spaeth said its open concept allows for a lot more room to fill with not only books, but also “bookish” merchandise available for sale at The Story Cellar.

“The openness allows us to have a lot more shelving, which is a good thing,” she said. “Then, we sell a lot of bookish merch… I know you can order [stuff like that] online, but [here], you get that instant gratification of seeing it and buying it. Having all that kind of stuff in our store, I think, sets us apart from some of the other book retailers.”

At The Story Cellar, Spaeth said customers can also purchase whole bean or drip coffee and other beverages to enjoy on-site.

“We have our Class C wine license, so we can [also] sell wine by the glass for consumption on-site,” she said. “That’s helpful for events and book clubs, [or] just a happy hour, if you want to come sit in a bookshop and have a glass of wine.”

Though her relocation “is a little bittersweet – people are going to miss the kind of space we created” – Spaeth said she hopes to assure customers the environment they’ve come to love from The Story Cellar will be maintained.

“I’m just letting them know to trust we’re going to create that same sort of vibe in the new space,” she said. “We’re going to have more shelves, more amenities and it’s going to be a better spot to serve our customers.”

For updates on The Story Cellar’s reopening, find it on Facebook.