Books & Books to open at Adrienne Arsht campus

The historic Carnival Tower on the campus of the Arsht Center
The historic Carnival Tower on the campus of the Arsht Center

South Florida chain Books & Books is opening at the historic Carnival Tower on the campus of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

The bookstore’s café will feature indoor and outdoor seating for about 100 guests, according to the Miami Herald.

“My philosophy is that I just want to be in interesting places,” Books & Books owner Mitchell Kaplan said. “I don’t sort of go actively looking, but if someone comes to me with a really, really interesting proposal or suggests something, we will jump on it. This is one of those. I wasn’t even aware that that was even a possibility, and when I heard that it was, it just fit so easily.”

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John Richard, president and CEO of the Arsht Center, said the institution had been quietly searching for a tenant for some time.

“The idea here is to develop a concept for the Café at Books & Books that would be a destination in and of itself on our campus,” he said. “So the idea of two Miami household name brands teaming up and then bringing new life to the corner of 13th and Biscayne Boulevard, in our view, is the cornerstone of the town square effort of activating the neighborhood.” [Miami Herald]Christopher Cameron