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Since purchasing Inklings Book Shoppe (formerly Book Bazaar) in 2020, Finley and Carmen Walker have been searching for the bookstore’s forever home.
First they moved the business from South Combee Road to 243 N. Florida Ave., on the edge of downtown Lakeland, in January 2023.
Now they’re in the process of another move, to 737 S. Missouri Ave., across the street from Hillcrest Coffee, in Dixieland.
The downtown shop has been a success. “The location’s been incredible,” Finley said.
“Our customer visitation more than doubled. Our gross revenue from Combee doubled at the Florida location, and it’s half the size. For square footage, we quadrupled the effectiveness of the space.”
The Walkers expanded the bookstore’s business. Along with used books, the inventory now includes new, antique and high-end books such as collectibles and first editions.
They’ve also added games, puzzles and local artworks and they’re planning for “Books and Bricks” to bring Legos into the mix.
“We’ve loved being downtown. We’re going to miss it,” Finley said, “but we love Dixieland, too… If I could have a store in both places, I would.”
Old home, new digs: Inklings’ new building in Dixieland was originally a single-family home built more than 100 years ago. It also has been a real estate office and, most recently, Cheatwood Chiropractic.
Books await shelving at Inklings’ new home.
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The building’s current owner, Chris Cheatwood, is letting the Walkers lease to purchase, making owning their own property finally feasible.
“This is what we originally dreamed of,” Finley said, “a historic-type home, to convert into this bookstore — a legacy bookstore.”
Inklings’ plan to convert the vacant chiropractic office was approved by the Lakeland Planning & Zoning Board May 20. It needs final approval by the City Commission. The first reading is scheduled on Monday, June 2.
The Walkers plan to open the Dixieland location on July 1.
“We think we can make something very beautiful here,” Finley said.
More Dixieland changes: Inklings is not the only change coming to that block of South Missouri Avenue. Recently, Guy A. Remodeling finished work on two single-family homes directly north of the soon-to-be Inklings.
Guy Afriat said that because the homes were in such bad shape, he would have demolished and rebuilt from the ground up, but as part of Dixieland’s historic district, the existing exteriors could not be modified.
Instead, his company built support systems to buttress the walls as they rebuilt from the inside out.
“We surgically removed each and every wood beam and replaced it with another,” he said.
The completed houses are stunning.
Afriat lights up when asked about the neighborhood.
“It’s a great neighborhood. I love the coffee place across the street,” he said of Hillcrest Coffee.
Throughout the building process, people walked by and encouraged his crew every day. It felt like an “emotional high-five,” he said.
Now that the homes are finished, some neighbors can’t wait for a glimpse inside because they feel as if they were a part of the building process.
The first to receive a tour was Joni Finkbiner-Tyler, who is excited about Inklings and the new homes on the block where she has been a homeowner since 2002. She’s happy to see this part of Dixieland getting some positive attention.
“They forget this whole part over here, which is where Lakeland started. This is a historic area,” she said.
Boutique also moving: June Taylor, a boutique selling vintage and antique home furnishings in downtown Lakeland, will also move, farther south in Dixieland, in late July or early August
The shop is moving back to a space it previously inhabited at 1216 S. Florida Ave.
June Taylor’s Dixieland neighbors now will include the recently opened By The Chef Pizza, Bright Ice, and The Wine Garden, as well as the Dixieland staple, Cob & Pen.
June Taylor’s current location at 125 N. Kentucky Ave. will close June 8.
Bill Riley, owner of June Taylor, explained the move: “Dixieland seems like a really good spot to be. It seems like a good spot… attracting a lot of businesses right now, a lot of shoppers.”
Finley Walker, of Inklings, envisions his bookstore’s new Dixieland location as a place to bring people together.
“You could argue that books are civilization, right?” he says. “The ability to preserve ideas, thoughts and knowledge, the written word and storytelling in a format that can be passed along. That is civilization. That is culture.”
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