The Reading Room in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Is there a better pairing than a good book and a great drink? You can find both at this cozy bar on the east side of Chattanooga. But the books lining the walls of the Reading Room are not just decoration. They are for sale, and their journey began, appropriately enough, at the library. The Reading Room is part neighborhood watering hole, part used bookstore, a combination dreamed up by the…
Nestled on the east side of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Reading Room offers a unique blend of a cozy bar and a used bookstore. Owner Linden Marno-Ferree, a former bookseller at Harvard Book Store and Politics and Prose, envisioned a space that merged the social atmosphere of a bar with the quiet retreat of a library. The Reading Room partners with the Chattanooga Public Library Foundation, with books sourced from the library and sales contributing to its foundation.
The shop's shelves are floor-to-ceiling, with exposed brick, vintage chandeliers, mismatched furniture, and cozy corners perfect for getting lost in a novel. Beverages, ranging from beer, cocktails, non-alcoholic options, coffee, and tea, complement the reading experience. A modest food menu is also available, allowing patrons to linger over their reads without needing to leave.
The Reading Room serves as a community hub for creatives, free-thinkers, and regular folks, hosting various events such as author readings, writers' and craft nights, bingo, comedy, bookish trivia, drag events, ambient music, and live "Drunk History" performances. It's a place where spending the evening until midnight is entirely reasonable, and leaving with a used paperback might be the most predictable conclusion.
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