Beloved bookstore Stacks Book Club is opening a second location on May 26

The year was 2020 when Lizzy and Crispin Jeffrey-Franco went through a Startup Tucson program. The business idea they brought to the table was a bookstore and coffee bar — what we now know as the very beloved Stacks Book Club.

When Lizzy and Crispin started to pitch their idea, listeners were seemingly hesitant. “A bookstore in this day and age?” they questioned. 

“We were like, ‘People crave this. People want it. It’s going to be incredible!’” Lizzy says.

And they were right. 

Stacks started as a pop-up in 2021 — a safer way to test the waters, establish a brand and build an audience of fellow readers. Two years later, Lizzy and Crispin opened a brick-and-mortar in Oro Valley at 1880 E. Tangerine Rd. Suite 140. 

Now they’re getting ready to open their second location — this time in midtown. The shop will have shelves of books and bookish merch, plus coffee, wine and beer at 2920 E. Broadway Blvd. An opening date is set for May 26. (And while the Oro Valley location closes at 8 p.m., the midtown spot will close at 10 p.m. most days and 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Both stores open at 7 a.m.)

“The plan was always meant to get into a brick-and-mortar bookstore and coffee bar like this. That was the dream,” Lizzy says. “Pop-ups were a stepping stone on the way to get there and they worked out kind of perfectly during the pandemic when we were doing them outside of restaurants and at markets. They really helped us meet people — people were getting so excited about us before we even opened in Oro Valley. We’re both very analytical and careful and we wanted the business to be successful — and we wanted it to be the right thing for the community. We didn’t want to just throw something together.”

Beyond the books and drinks, both Lizzy and Crispin wanted Stacks to become a space for community to gather — a space for people to make connections, chat about books and maybe meet their favorite author.

“We live in the (Oro Valley) area and we had lived in Phoenix for a long time and had just moved down right before the pandemic. We were feeling like our third space was missing in that part of town where there was no place like Stacks,” Lizzy says. “Some of the other places we love in Phoenix, like Changing Hands Bookstore, were major inspirations for us. We really wanted to build the community space that we wish we had in that area.”

“In this space, there aren’t (electrical) outlets in seating areas, there aren’t a whole bunch of places where you can sit all day and be isolated. It’s community seating and it sort of forces you to be part of the community when you sit down,” Crispin says. “When we opened the Oro Valley store, Lizzy was pregnant so our second baby was born a couple months after we opened. A lot of our regulars have seen her from her infancy to now walking and running and walking. They’ve watched her grow up and we’ve watched other people’s babies grow up and that’s really special. Customers are part of the community but I feel like we’re just as much a part of that.”

People have become friends through Stacks, people have started dating through Stacks. Engagements have happened at Stacks. 

“People come in and I’ll hear their story of, ‘We became friends at this midnight release party two years ago’ and they still come and get coffee together,” Lizzy says. “It’s the dream.”

And the addition of coffee, beer and wine was a no-brainer.

“The same way sipping on a cup of coffee is great with a book, so is sipping on a beer or a glass of wine,” Lizzy says. “It helps with that community aspect. It’s another thing that brings people together.”

Pretty soon after opening the Oro Valley location, the Jeffrey-Francos knew they wanted to open a second location in central Tucson. 

“In Oro Valley, a lot of what we hear is, ‘I love Stacks but it’s just too far.’ Especially for people coming from the east side, it’s a major trek,” Lizzy says. “I remember when we were working with Rio Nuevo (who helped fund a portion of construction costs), one of the board members joked, ‘I have to get my passport to come visit you in Oro Valley.’ So while we were servicing that area really well, we wanted to be someplace more central.” 

The two hunted for the perfect location and found a space filled with mid-century vibes and a whole lot of history along the Sunshine Mile. The Broadway location is the former home of Austin’s Ice Cream, a very-loved ice cream shop and diner that opened in 1959. Austin’s moved to a different location in 2006 and closed in 2010, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

“So many people have a connection to Austin’s Ice Cream,” Lizzy says. “Getting to come in and revitalize it and bring that third space into this third space and bring it back to its heyday was really important to us. We didn’t want to just end up anywhere.”

The couple wanted the space to match the mid-century architecture while making sure Stacks still felt like Stacks. Part of that included exposing the original brick that was covered in countless layers of paint — which meant 3-4 months of hand-scraping every brick.

“These bricks peeking through are the same bricks that have seen Austin’s and all the celebrations and happy memories. I love that,” Lizzy says. “We tried to bring in the mid-century aesthetic which is different than Oro Valley, just to pay homage to this area and the history of Austin’s.”

The space also has custom built-in bookcases and matching sliding ladders created by local shop Furniture in the Raw. 

“In my home growing up, we had a little China cabinet that my mom had built (at Furniture in the Raw) in the ‘80s,” Lizzy says. “So to work with Alberto there — it was a lot more special to me than going to a chain.”

“I think it helps get people together, especially book people like us, we’re shy, we’re introverted people. Having a set event to bring people together really helps facilitate those connections,” Lizzy says.

Beyond the book clubs, Stacks has been a catalyst in bringing several bestselling authors, including Matt Dinniman and Elsie Silver, to Tucson. That includes a handful of 500-capacity events that Stacks sold out in less than an hour.

“Tucson was sort of seen as, ‘There’s the Tucson Festival of Books and that’s the time authors visit Tucson. Otherwise, authors visit Phoenix,’” Lizzy says. “We have worked so incredibly hard the last few years building relationships with publishers, authors, their PR teams, to say, ‘Hey, we have a huge highly-engaged audience here in Tucson — a reading audience that’s separate from Phoenix.’”

Both Lizzy and Crispin were avid readers growing up and fell back in love with books as adults. They share the same favorite book — “Beartown” by Fredrik Backman — which they read (and have re-read) together.

A decade ago, Crispin started a book club among friends in Phoenix. It’s been 10 years and they still meet once a month with that same group of friends. (They named that book club “Stacks Book Club” and when they prepared to open their business, the couple wanted to use the same name.)

You don’t have to be into books to visit Stacks — you can visit for the coffee, for the pastries, for the beer, for the wine. But maybe a book cover will catch your eye. 

“My favorite part (of Stacks) is the customers — getting to make those connections, getting to hear people say, ‘It’s been 10 years since I’ve read a book and now I’m coming to book clubs,’” Crispin says. “Seeing the revitalization of reading, not only here but throughout the community — it’s been 6 or 7 years since we moved back and I wasn’t seeing a whole bunch of activity around books and reading at that time. Now every weekend somewhere around town, someone is doing something related to reading. To see a reinvestment in reading has been really awesome.”

“You don’t have to come in a reader, but hopefully you leave a reader,” Crispin says.

📚 Stacks Book Club is located at 1880 E. Tangerine Rd. Suite 140 in Oro Valley. Come May 26, Stacks’ second location will be open at 2920 E. Broadway Blvd. For more information, visit their website or Instagram. 📖