OLD ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — This week's Shop Small with Stevie takes us to Old Ellicott City and Backwater Books.
Alli and Matt Krist strive to make their shop a generalist store, something that has a little bit of everything for young, and old.
"We started in 2022, during the pandemic, we were both teachers before that and quit our jobs and needed something that was educationally adjacent to that so here we are," said owner, Matthew Krist.
Backwater Booksis a place where you can slow down and explore the endless possibilities found in books. Travel the world, solve a mystery, or step into the shoes of your favorite characters, "Romantasy is probably our biggest seller right now, which is romance and fantasy."
Once you find that great read, you can head upstairs to the Biblipub for a beverage, "Our bookstore has a bar which is somewhat unique."
It's all about bringing people on Main Street together, "One of my favorite parts of this job is being a bartender, and when you see people around the corner, they have a look of surprise on their faces when they see a full bar in a bookstore is kind of fun."
They also feature local jazz and bluegrass musicians. Plus poetry readings and, of course, book clubs.
Alli and Matt have big plans to keep everyone, young and old, interested in getting lost in a good book, "We are about to put on a literary festival at the Patapsco Female Institute in September. We've partnered with friends at Patapsco Valley to do a little nature walk on the trolley trail with a little gift book called The Hike, so kids can hike the trail and read the book as they go."
You can keep up with the store and upcoming events by following Backwater Books on Instagram.
