Romance book boutique opens in Republic

A recently revived interest in reading led a Republic woman to launch a book boutique this month in her hometown.

Caitlyn Lohkamp said she opened Bedpost Books on Aug. 2 at 738 E. Hines St. in a shopping center directly behind Mid-Missouri Bank. The 900-square-foot shop’s book selection is focused on the romance genre, which she said also includes several subgenres, such as young adult, fantasy and dark romance.

“I wanted it to be a boutique feel as well as a bookstore,” she said. “So, I’ve got sweatshirts, I’ve got T-shirts, different book accessories, like bookmarks, and we have so many different stickers to choose from. I even have a few little coloring books, book review journals and pens.

“When I opened, I wanted to get a lot of different types of accessories to see what would hit off well.”

While declining to estimate startup costs, Lohkamp, who currently is the lone employee, said she signed a one-year lease for $1,800 per month with landlord Lee Roberts.

Bedpost Books marks a professional pivot for Lohkamp, who became a first-time business owner after working the past four years in property management with Wilhoit Properties Inc.

“This was a dream and then I was able to make it happen,” Lohkamp said, adding she got back into reading – particularly romance books – in 2021 and kept seeing GIFs and memes on social media that ultimately served as inspiration. “My friends and I would joke about it and here we are now.”

La Vergne, Tennessee-based Ingram Content Group LLC supplies books for the Republic shop, although Lohkamp said she plans to expand her book distributor list to discover more of the romance subgenre options that customers are already asking about.

“I realized you cannot go to a big superstore and find very many options,” she said, regarding added motivation to open Bedpost Books.