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Court Street Bookshop to Open Bar and 'Reader's Garden' for Book Lovers

 BookCourt at 163 Court St., is set to open a cafe, bar and reader's garden next year.
BookCourt to Open Bar and Reader's Garden
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COBBLE HILL — Here’s something even your Kindle can’t do.

BookCourt, an independent neighborhood bookshop, is planning to open a bar at their store, serving wine, beer, juices and snacks.

Relocating the shop’s cookbook section, the eight-foot bar will overlook about five tables placed under a huge skylight at the back of the store.

“People have been telling us to do it for 20 years,” said Zack Zook, who is the events and development manager at BookCourt, located at 163 Court St.

A bartender-bookseller will man the bar, said Zook, serving a wide selection of high quality local beers and wines from Brooklyn and Long Island.

The bar, that was approved for a wine and beer license by Community Board 2 last week, will be “an organic add-on,” said Zook, as customers can relax with a beer or browse the shelves with a glass of Chardonnay.

The 32-year-old Cobble Hill bookshop hosts a number of evening readings and programs, where wine purchased by publishers or authors is served. Zook hopes the new bar will give customers a few more options, he said.

Another big project for the Court Street book haven was announced in May as BookCourt launched a campaign to purchase and renovate the $260,000 Bibliobarn, a bookshop barn tucked away into the Catskill Mountains.

Along with the bar, Zook is hoping to create a “Reader’s Garden,” a 1,000-square-foot backyard space that will allow customers to purchase books and while away their time, he said.

A handicapped-accessible ramp will lead book shoppers into the garden, which will hold outdoor furniture, tables and chairs, as well as wooden fencing, a blue stone patio, trellises and maybe even a small herb patch, said Zook.

“It’s ultimately going to be a place where people can relax,” he said.

Zook hopes to open the bar next January and the garden will be open in the spring or summer of 2014, he said.

“I think it’s going to takeoff pretty quickly.”