New Bookstore Set To Open Soon In Melrose: ‘A Lifelong Dream’

MELROSE, MA — Melrose’s downtown business community is on track to add a new attraction alongside existing dining, retail and service options next month in the form of the independent Molly’s Bookstore.

The bookstore is a venture of Melrose-residents Andrea Iriarte Dent and Brett Reed. It is set to open on Nov. 19, according to Iriarte Dent, at 667-669 Main Street in Melrose.

“The community needs a bookstore,” Iriarte Dent said in a recent interview.

“This community is right for it,” she later continued.

Iriarte Dent immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala a little over a dozen years ago. She initially settled in Florida before marrying her husband and moving to Massachusetts for his job. The family has been in Melrose for the past four years.

Iriarte Dent told Patch that it has been a “lifelong dream” to start a bookstore.

As she now sits weeks away from seeing that dream come to fruition, she recently reflected on a childhood and life to date spent in libraries and bookstores.

“I am the kind of person who travels to a new town and visits every indie bookstore,” she said.

When she travels, she continued, she brings an extra bag just for the books she plans to bring home.

Despite her love of books and her bookstore aspirations, Iriarte Dent said a shortage of available commercial real estate in Melrose had limited her options.

As a result, she said, she and Reed had to jump at the opportunity when space finally opened in Melrose’s core downtown area.

“We had to go from zero to hero at 200 miles an hour,” she said.

Renovations are now ongoing, with work spanning multiple aspects of the existing facility at 667-669 Main Street. Iriarte Dent said finished renovations will include new accessibility measures.

Named for a family dog, Molly’s Bookstore will span two stories, with children's books and event space on a lower level and adult books on the second floor.

Iriarte Dent said she is excited to ramp up offerings as she and Reed launch the business, envisioning a variety of book clubs and other events in what she hopes will be a community gathering space.

“(Bookstores) hold such an important place in our community because they bring people together,” she said.

“It is that place where we're where a teen comes in and finds that book that tells them ‘Okay, my dreams are okay,’” she continued.

She discussed ways books foster a love of learning and noted a pandemic-era resurgence in reading as people “found refuge in stories.”

Iriarte Dent said she is carrying her identity as a woman and a Latinx person with her as she preps to launch Molly’s Bookstore.

She said she remembers days in a Latino reading group where she and fellow group members struggled to find the books that they wanted to read. She said she will seek to provide diverse book offerings while creating space for a diverse community under her roof.

Now in a final sprint to complete preparations for opening day, Iriarte Dent said she has seen immense support from city officials and business community colleagues.

Local officials themselves celebrated news of a new bookstore in recent days after Iriarte Dent announced plans publicly.

“It’s been an honor to support Andrea and Brett through the process of opening their new business,” Melrose Director of Economic Development Lauren Grymek said in a statement last week. “Community members have long hoped for an independent bookstore to open here, and the City is excited to welcome Molly’s Bookstore to Melrose.”

Mayor Paul Brodeur touted small businesses as “the engine of Melrose’s local economy.” He, continued, highlighting Molly’s Bookstore’s envisioned location on the northern side of downtown Melrose.

“I know Molly’s Bookstore will add even more vibrancy to our community,” Brodeur said.

Melrose Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Stephanie Nelson said she has been in touch with Iriarte Dent.

“I was absolutely thrilled when I heard about the prospect of a bookstore being opened in Melrose,” Nelson said.

“At the chamber we believe our role is founded on connectivity. Books – and bookstores – provide that too,” she added.

Follow updates on Molly's Bookstore via their website here.