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June 3, 2024
GREEN BAY – Shoppers can now enjoy a cup of joe while perusing Lion’s Mouth Bookstore.
The downtown bookstore recently opened Lion’s Mouth Café inside the store – a project years in the making.
Owner Amy Mazzariello said she planned to open a café when the bookstore moved to its location at 211 N. Washington St. in 2022.
“Other things came up and it just took longer than expected to pull the cafe together,” she said. “We had a few setbacks along the way, but now everything has come together and we’ve been able to open.”
The café features a variety of cold and hot drinks featuring coffee from Luna Café in De Pere.
Mazzariello said she knows Luna Owner Mark Patel and decided it would be great to sell his coffee.
“Luna is in De Pere and in Bellevue, but no one downtown (Green Bay) carried it, so I saw it as a good opportunity,” she said. “Luna also does a lot of fundraising and is community-focused, which fits in well with what we do here.”
The bookstore also has Luna coffee available to purchase by the bag.
A peek inside
Mazzariello said the café has a small seating area featuring three tables attached to the wall that can be folded up to create more room, if needed.
There’s also a table near the front of the store and several chairs throughout the store where people can sit and enjoy their beverages – while reading and exploring the options of the bookstore.
Mazzariello said she hopes to add more seating in the future.
“I wanted the café to provide another opportunity to bring people into the store if they wanted to browse and see what we have,” she said. “It’s nice to have this offering.”
Mazzariello said Patel came to Lion’s Mouth to provide employees with a tutorial on making the coffee drinks – building on the knowledge many of the employees already had.
She said one of the store’s employees used to manage a café at another bookstore, while another employee’s mom – who used to run a coffee shop – also came in to provide advice.
“A lot of people enjoy Luna’s coffee, so I hope that it will be a draw and attract new customers to the store,” Mazzariello said.
More on Lion’s Mouth
Mazzariello said she opened Lion’s Mouth Bookstore in 2019, after seeing a need for an independent bookstore in downtown Green Bay.
The store, she said, sells new books and buys and sells used books (for store credit).
Beyond books, Mazzariello said the store has unique gifts, games, puzzles, stationery and a large children’s section filled with books and treasures.
She said Lion’s Mouth also holds special events, including those featuring authors, and hosts book clubs.
“We provide customers with a more intimate experience, helping them with special orders or helping them find a book they’re looking for,” she said. “We want to create a place where people can come in, feel comfortable and browse the bookshelves.”
Mazzariello said the bookstore originally opened at 401 N. Washington St., but moved to its current location to have more space and parking.
“I love how vibrant the downtown gets during the summer, especially with activities on the City Deck,” she said. “That brings in a lot of people.”
Before opening Lion’s Mouth, Mazzariello said she worked for 13 years at Reader’s Loft in Bellevue.
When that store’s owner decided to retire, she said she purchased the business, renamed it and moved it downtown.
Though Lion’s Mouth has not yet done much marketing for the café beyond some posts on social media, Mazzariello said the news is getting around.
“A lot of people find out about us by word-of-mouth, and I expect the same will happen with the café,” she said.
Lion’s Mouth Bookstore is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, visit lionsmouthbookstore.com.
