Cute hole in the wall place. You can sit back with your laptop and read, bring your laptop, sip on…read moresome coffee or chai, and listen to the chill music and vibe~ You can also order books that you don't see here! Pretty awesome

What a unique coffee shop! They've got a full-service coffee bar--offering coffee roasted in…read moreSwannanoa--and then, hidden behind the storefront, a curated collection of eclectic reads. A great place to let some caffeine get you dialed into a book!

Cool little bookstore in Blackmountain, NC. I was on a business trip and stopped in here to see if…read moreI could find a book I was looking for. This is a cozy place with areas to sit and thump through a book or just come and sit and read. I did find the book I was looking for and several others to add to my list.

A very cool boutique with toys on the top level and books and a coffee bar on the bottom, Sassafras…read morewas a fun little stop to check out on the corner of Sutton and Cherry Street. We really liked the bottom floor, with all the books and cards for purchase, and the coffee bar, where my wife and I ordered tea and iced coffee. The barista was super nice and attentive as we gave our orders and made our drinks. We liked the little sitting area under a chandelier to enjoy our drinks. Very chill vibes to enjoy and buy a book, a toy, or a knickknack. Sassafras is one of a few stores located either on Sutton or Cherry, where you can check out as you walk around town.

Fun shop with something for everyone! 2 floors of rooms filled with books and the top floor…read morededicated to artists, this is a treasure to visit. I didn't test out the coffee-- saving that for the next trip-- but I did find some great used books to bring home. Fun atmosphere and definitely a place to find gifts and hidden treasures!

I would give this place a zero if I could. We asked the girl at the counter (dark hair) if they had…read moreoat milk and she loudly and rudely said NO. I chose not to order because of her attitude. My husband ordered and he hated his latte. The customers after us asked if they had oat milk and the same rude cashier said "no one reads the sign." The customer said where's the sign? Both ladies behind the counter point to a hand made sign that offers some milk alternatives. It doesn't say no oat milk and honestly it's 2024 who doesn't have oat milk?!! Besides, what does it hurt to say, I'm sorry we don't but we do offer x,y,z. Get some customer service skills!! After reading all the stuff on the windows it explained a lot. Lots of intolerant, angry liberal crap. We love books and never once looked at them because of the horrible customer service.

If you're a fan of physical books and are Christian this is a great place to visit. It has a cozy…read moremountain charm decor and a pleasant atmosphere . They have plenty of seating where you can spend some time reading and relax. I usually come here for Christian greeting cards or to gift someone a Bible (they have an option to engrave in the store and gift wrap). Parking is easy and free in front of the store. The only suggestions I would make is to improve their coffee quality and sell baked goods so people can hang out and eat, open later hours in the evening and host events for the community. Customer service is nice and they gift wrap for a small fee which is convenient. If you're curious about a Christian author and don't want to buy the book online then you can check it out here first. Buy it in the store and support local.

This is a phenomenal book, gift and bible store! They are well stocked, helpful and have wonderful…read morefeature displays. It's also a nice place to sit and enjoy the window view while working on your computer. I love this store!

Malaprop's will forever be one of my favorite indie bookstores. I first fell in love with it back…read morein 2021 when I lived in AVL. I liked the name so much because I was the type of person who used malaprops a good amount. It's extra charming because you're able to order something from their cafe while reading your book. This spot is deceptively huge. The different sections are very intentional and beautifully organized. I had an especially great time looking at the "Beautiful Books" section this visit. I ended up falling in love with a short stories book by Chips Hardy that I took home. I also adored their graphic t-shirts here. I am not a big t-shirt person, but always want more graphic tees, so was so excited to love this one so much. I had a really special experience with one of the booksellers here on my recent visit too. I could not find The Enchanted April in the fiction section and when I asked, one of the booksellers got really excited about the author and that book. She passionately told me how wonderful the book was. We were sad to see it was sold out, but suggested I check a bookstore a block over. I love this bookstore and think everyone should make it a stop on an Asheville trip.

Very cool independent bookstore in downtown Asheville complete with an adjacent cafe and tables for…read moresipping, reading, or conversing. It seems as though it's only open until the afternoon though, as it wasn't staffed when we were there. But there's still plenty of seating if you wanted to sit a spell. The bookstore portion is really well curated with a nice "local" section featuring local writers and interest. I love checking out this section when I travel and there was a ton to dig into here. They also have a good sized kid's section most notable thing is how many books they offer with autographed copies. That means they seem to bring in a ton of writers which is so exciting for the Asheville community. Speaking of community, I peeked at their events calendar and it looks like they have a ton of book clubs in a variety of different genres that meet regularly. So no matter your interest (romance, science fiction, mystery, horror, etc) you can find a meetup. Some are hosted in store but others in local breweries, libraries, and other third spaces in the area. Excellent offerings across the board!

Very charming bookstore in Spruce Pine, NC They have…read morebeautiful cards and several books about Western North Carolina.

Adorable used bookstore! I stopped in here while on vacation and the only thing that kept me from…read morebuying more books is that I would have to haul them back in my carry-on luggage back to Michigan!

Quiet and quant, the Joy of Books is a small locally owned bookstore in downtown Hendersonville…read more I've visited several times and left with at least one book each and every time. On my most recent visit, I left with four of them! Competitively priced, I'd rather buy local than online.

Absolute scam and rip off look at the price on the stuff with original tags, such a rip off and the…read morestuff sucks it's all nee cheap stuff

The outside looks great and it has a neat layout, so there's that. But I did have to walk through…read morea cloud of smelly cigarette smoke from the 2 employees that were sitting on each side of the door, smoking. Yuck. Aside from that, I noticed that their sign features a graphic that looks like a church with a cross and because of that, I mistakenly thought this thrift store was serving the public good by operating as a non profit or at least contributing a portion of their for-profit bottom line to a charity, but I was wrong. I went in today and noticed that they also accept donations. Do the folks that donate their items to this place realize that they are basically giving their stuff away to someone who will sell it and keep the money for themselves? I asked the employee if the store served a charitable cause and he told me that it serves the community by offering them these items. He evaded every question I asked him and tried to cover the fact that they take donations and the owner is the only one who profits. If those that donate understand that this is absolutely NOT a non-profit and this thrift store does NOT support a charity, then that is their choice. However, because of the way the employee answered the questions I asked, I feel that they are misrepresenting themselves and taking the good people of McDowell County for fools. It is also my opinion that the graphic on the sign which appears to be a church with a cross is also a misrepresentation since their profits are not going to any church. I hope people will begin to pay attention to places like this and consider donating to legitimate 501-c3 organizations instead. I have a feeling that most people do not realize that this place isn't a non-profit.