Treat Yourself to Community and Joy at Rose City Book Pub

At the heart of Rose City Book Pub is community, connections, and love. As the name implies, there are books and drinks, but there is so much more to it than that. The Book Pub was intentionally designed to be a third place; a place outside of people’s homes or workplaces where they can gather to connect or decompress. If you visit, you’ll find new friends, tasty food, and daily events just to name a few. Finding Community I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the owner Elise Schumock, a self-described Bookpublican, to learn more about her business. Over lemonade and bubbly water, we discussed what makes Rose City Book Pub so special to her and community members alike. She opened the Book Pub in 2018 with a dream of building a community within its walls. She wanted to have regular customers who formed connections with one another and used the Book Pub as their third place. The cute and quirky establishment was built to be both a communal space for gathering and a solo space for reading or working. It’s designed to be an inclusive and welcoming environment that is intentionally queer and women friendly. “I loved how people understood my vision right away, and the right people found me. I was able to make this for them, and it’s been really special.” -Elise Photo taken by author Informal & Formal Events Rose City Book Pub seems to be the spot for local musicians and authors. Elise shared that she doesn’t reach out to people to schedule events, but instead people approach her to get on the calendar. Thanks to some early press releases, she was getting inquiries before she opened. Even big names like the Association of Writers & Writing Programs wanted a spot on her calendar for book readings within 5 months of opening. The Book Pub boasts between one and four free events per day ranging from trivia to open mic poetry. You can also find more niche events such as zine meetups and the Astrology Study Group for Late Night Owls. My favorites so far have been l...