Pete And Freddy’s Pages Aplenty Opens New Location
Pete And Freddy’s Pages Aplenty Opens New Location
Posted
Deb Patterson-
Pete And Freddy’s Pages Aplenty Opens New LocationMENTONE — Pete and Freddy’s Pages Aplenty has officially moved.
A ribbon-cutting, hosted by the Mentone Chamber of Commerce, was held Saturday, the first day of business at the new location.
The bookstore didn’t move far, just from 109 E. Main St., Mentone, to 107 E. Main.
Madelyne Anweiler, also known as “Pete,” moved the store following her sister, Elyza, retiring at the end of 2022.
The new store, operated solely by Anweiler, now has 900 square feet of space to display gently used and new books. Three rooms are filled with selections for all ages and genres. There’s adult, teen and children's fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, horror, westerns, Christian living, large print, graphic novels, biographies, history, reference books and a small selection of Indiana history.
Looking for a special book? There’s “a little over 50,000 books that can be found in three rooms of the new store and every book is cataloged.
“I keep a good memory of what I have,” Anweiler said. While she orders gently used and new books, she also accepts donations from those wanting to downsize their personal library.
Pete and Freddy’s Pages Aplenty also partners with www.lebro.fm where customers can sign up and order audio books through the local store or buy new books from bookshop.org. If you sign up through either of these options you help shop local. Pete and Freddy’s Pages get a percentage of sales made through either site. Information on how to help support Pete and Freddy’s is available at the store.
“It’s a way to help small businesses,” Anweiler stated.
But you won’t find just books at the store.
You can find jewelry and notebooks created by local artists and a gallery featuring artwork by local artist for sales. There’s also specialty tote bags to load up with your reading delights. But that is not all.
You can find cards, puzzles, toys, stickers, pens, candles and special Mentone magnets, pins, earrings and more.
Anweiler has made the store unique. Decorated in bright colors with a chandelier, the exterior was painted to look like a bookstore you may find in London. Painted a bright blue with some gold accents, the store stands out on Main Street.
Just to the left of the entry, painted on the stone front is a fitting quotable quote from Shel Silverstein. “If you are a dreamer come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you’re a pretender come sit by my fire/ For we have some flax golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!”
Look for more quotes to possibly appear on the walls around the store in the future.
You might also want to take a peek at the restroom. Not only is it uniquely decorated, but you’ll find pennies sealed onto the floor. And guess what, if you can guess the number of pennies, you could win store credit.
Another uniqueness is the store’s name. It’s not operated or owned by men. Anweiler stated the store’s name is actually the nicknames for herself and her sister. “We love nicknames. It keeps people guessing,” she stated.
While she operates the store herself, she gets a lot of help from “amazing strong women,” who are friends and book club members.
That’s right. Pete and Freddy’s Pages Aplenty has a weekly book club that meets at 7 p.m. the last Tuesday of the month. Anweiler will choose four titles and post it on the store’s social media sites — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok — for club members to choose. Once the title has been chosen, the books are made available for further discussion.
She has a tagline she likes to use for the store: “Woman owned. Love Powered. Community driven. Book inspired.”
Pete and Freddy’s Pages is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 1-6 p.m. Wednesday; and 10 a.m. To 4 p.m. Saturday. Cash, check and credit cards are accepted.
