Chelsea Bromley, owner of Bromley’s books, stands in her renovated bus which is outfitted to sell books all across Marquette County. (Journal courtesy of Bromley’s Books)

MARQUETTE – The book bus, Bromley’s Books, is set to open the doors of its new location at 813 on Third Street, on Saturday. After half a year, the business found enough success to open a set location.

“It will be so nice for our little bus to have a home base for operations, and to create this new cozy space for readers to enjoy,” said owner Chelsea Bromley. “Bromley’s Books on Third will offer a similar warm and inviting space that book bus visitors have enjoyed, with a bit more room for browsing. Our little book bus will also be roaming about this summer, and we’re excited to see what this new season brings.”

Bromley’s Books opened this past September, after many months of renovating and outfitting a city bus with a unique book store concept.

“There were several challenges in bringing this mobile bookshop dream to life, most notably the unknown if people would be willing and curious enough to step into the bus,” said Bromley. “But once people do, everyone is surprised at how cozy and curated the space is-and I was constantly surprised by how many people the bus could fit! It really is something special, and I’m so honored to share this space with fellow book lovers. Other hurdles of course happened, we had a mechanical issue that caused us to close for repairs, and admittedly I’m still learning how to drive the bus, but it’s all part of the journey. Overall we had a great first season, and I’m excited for readers to return to the book bus this year.”

Customers and those curios of the book bus can find it parked in numerous locals across Marquette County in the Spring, Summer and Fall months. Even though it features books, that is not all it sells.

“Bromley’s Books is a mobile bookstore that operates out of a converted city transit bus, offering a curated selection of books for all ages, along with cards, stationery and literary gifts,” said Bromley. “We are thrilled to partner with local businesses, and we are regularly parked at The Crib, Blackrocks Brewery, Peace Pie Company and Lake Superior Press. We’re Anishinaabekwe (Indigenous woman) owned, and we have a growing collection of Native-authored books for all types of readers.”

Bromley’s Books sells romance, fantasy, non-fiction and more genres of books to fit its ever growing customer base. Which was a pleasant surprise for Bromley.

“Business was great,” Bromley said. “We’re so fortunate to have such an engaged literary community in Marquette, and everyone’s been incredibly welcoming and supportive.”

Though the book bus has come to a screeching halt to hibernate for the winter, Bromley’s Books hasn’t let off the gas as it still has events for the rest of the year.

“While the bus hibernates for the winter, we offer a series of indoor bookshop pop-ups and have two more pop-ups this season,” said Bromley. “We’ll be at Campfire Coffee in Negaunee this Saturday, March 22nd, and at VeloDrome Coffee March 29th. We’re looking forward to reopening the bus in April, depending on weather.”

Antonio Anderson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. His email address is aanderson@miningjournal.net.