Across the street from Superior Grill on Highland Road sits a new, unique book and tea shop.
TBR Books and Tea hosted its grand opening on April 12, with its first week in business garnering plenty of attention from book lovers and local business supporters alike. TBR earned its name from a popular acronym readers use for the list of books they plan on reading, or a “to be read” list. Owner Jamie Freeman had her “aha” moment after realizing that the “BR” in “TBR” can also be associated with Baton Rouge.
Freeman hand-picked every book in the store, hoping to find something for everyone. She said this personal touch is what makes local and independent booksellers so important, compared to larger corporations like Barnes & Noble. Around the store, customers are able to find recommendations from herself and the rest of the staff, showing off some of their favorite books.
“Think of it as, like, shopping at a department store versus shopping at a clothing boutique,” Freeman said.
Genres at the store include romance, fiction, memoirs, mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy, young adult, childrens and many more. Freeman said that because the store is independently owned, it gives her the leeway to take recommendations on future additions for purchase.
“It’s important to shop local and support the community, and we’re trying to support the community ourselves by being here,” Freeman said.
Not only does TBR feature books, but it will also have an extensive tea selection coming soon. After noticing that there weren’t many tea shops and houses in Baton Rouge, Freeman decided to include her favorite beverage in her new business. The store also has an extra room where people can come and go to read, study or hang out in a quie, cozy setting. Freeman hopes that in the near future, the room will also host book clubs and other events.
“So any kind of events, fun stuff that we can bring to the community, we definitely want to do that,” Freeman said.
The owner was born and raised in Baton Rouge, and her love for reading stemmed from a pile of books on her dad’s nightstand that held the stories her grandmother would read to her when she was little. Her passion for reading derives from loving a good story and learning about different places, cultures and people.
Freeman graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in film and moved back to Louisiana to work in the film production industry, before becoming a bookkeeper for her dad’s industrial installation firm.
The bookkeeper position led her to the next job, which was working for non-profit organizations doing government relations and association management. After all of those positions, she decided that she wanted to open a bookstore, so she stepped back to start looking for options.
Freeman called the location of TBR a “happy accident.” It was January 2024, and she took a step back from working to find a place where her new business could call home. She knew she wanted it to be far enough from Red Stick Reads on Government Street so the two book stores could operate in harmony, mentioning her admiration for the other independent bookseller. When she found the location on Highland Rd, she immediately turned around to start the journey of flipping it into a bookstore.
“I just walked in and I was like, ‘this is perfect’,” Freeman said. “It’s a beautiful space. It has so much bright light. It’s a great location. So I just got really lucky with that.”
Avery LeMaire and Akira Grant both found TBR through Instagram and applied to work there. As two of the first employees, they were there opening day to see the cars parked down the street and assist the customers as they explored the new store. Both said the store has been amazing to be a part of and watch grow in just over a week.
“This kind of gives you a place to sit down, hang out, do your work with no pressure,” Grant said in regards to access to its connected room, since visitors do not need to purchase a book to read or study in there.
Shoppers could find one of LeMaire’s recommended books with a blurb on why she chose it on opening day. LeMaire said that Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is something she thinks everyone should read at least once, which led her to choosing it to be her first ever “Staff Pick.” She said she was very excited when she saw someone buy it.
“There’s just something different about a community here, and people that come here are really interested in our business and really want to be here and support us,” LeMaire said.
TBR will celebrate Independent BookStore Day on April 26 by joining other Baton Rouge bookstores like Red Stick Reads in a book crawl. They will participate in a Libro.fm golden ticket giveaway, with the audiobook website rewarding 12 audio books to whoever finds the golden ticket in store.
TBR is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shop’s selection of books can be found on their website here.
