Books & Books in Cayman Islands: A Grand Opening Celebration

South Florida's Books & Books held a grand opening celebration for its Cayman Island location last weekend. Two days of literary events included a reception Friday night featuring Cayman-based authors; a presentation by master griller Steven Raichlen (Barbecue Bible books, Workman); and readings by Les Standiford (Last Train to Paradise, Three Rivers), John Dufresne (Requiem, Mass, Norton), Marlon James (John Crow's Devil, Akashic), Lisa Allen-Agostini (Trinidad Noir, Akashic), and Ana Menendez (In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd, Grove). Celebrations were capped with a Saturday night party with live music and gourmet barbecue from local restaurants.

From left to right: Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books, John Dufresne, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Ana Menendez, Johnny Temple (publisher Akashic Books), Marlon James, Steven Raichlen and Les Standiford.

More than 3,000 people visited the store during its Grand Opening. "Response has been overwhelming," said Books & Books owner Mitchell Kaplan. "The whole island was buzzing. The response has been so fresh and fulsome, it's shown me how needed and necessary the store is for the community here. People have been coming in and thanking us."

The opening events began with an in-store reception and signing with local writers including Cathy Church, Shane Aquart, and Karie Bergrstrom. Saturday featured a story hour with characters Clifford the Big Red Dog and Peter Rabbit. Also on Saturday was a lineup of readings by authors Standiford, James, and more, introduced by Kaplan and Johnny Temple of Akashic Books, publisher of some of the Caribbean's most notable writers.

Standiford told BTW the store demanded a visit. "To my eye, the Cayman Island incarnation of Books & Books goes far beyond the concept of 'bookstore,'" he said. "The design of this shop is absolutely stunning, and its shelf stock is surely the broadest and richest in the entire Caribbean. Caymanders have always been rightfully proud of their pristine waters -- with the opening of Books & Books they have another gem to boast of."

The Cayman Islands store, the fourth Books & Books, is in Camana Bay's Town Centre, a community development spanning 500 acres between Seven Mile Beach and North Sound on Grand Cayman. The center is "in heart of Cayman and is meant to serve whole community, and is not just resort community," Kaplan said.

The 4,000-square-foot store reflects traditional and modern Caribbean architectural styles, and sells fine fiction, art and architecture books, poetry and classics, bestsellers, cookbooks, travel guides, and books for children and young adults. In the New Year, Caf del Sol will be opening a coffee shop next door. --Karen Schechner