By Shayna Mace | Photography By Shanna Wolf
For Molly Fish, her bookstore, Lake City Books, is more than just a “What people want is the community of being in a space together. You can’t get that on Amazon. So, we provide a ‘third space’ where people can hang out,” she explains.
Fish established Lake City Books in 2023 and recently moved to a larger location on South Carroll Street. The open, airy space has concrete flooring, soaring ceilings and exposed ductwork — yet feels homey at the same time. It helps that there’s a beautiful bar in the back for patrons.
“My booksellers can all pop over and pour you a delicious glass of wine, and we know these are all great wines, because they’re specially curated [for us],” says Fish, noting that Andrea Hillsey of Square Wine Company selects the wines.
Patrons can also order a Working Draft Beer Company brew or hard seltzer, or a delicious nonalcoholic rosé kombucha, among other options.
Fish says Lake City Books regularly hosts events, including writer meetups, book clubs, craft nights and author readings. “People want more things that they can participate in, so we’ve been leaning into that. You could come [here] by yourself or come with friends,” she says.
For nearly two decades, Fish had been toying with the idea of opening her own business. Before launching Lake City Books, she worked as a quality assurance team lead at Epic while prepping for entrepreneurship by taking courses through UW-Madison’s Small Business Development Center. But books had always been part of her story. A proud Madison native, Fish had even worked in independent bookstores in both Madison and Chicago, where she lived for a time. This formed the plot for her own small-business tale.
“I know Madison. I love small business. I felt like I could create something that Madison will love and be authentic to us,” says Fish.
That includes the shop’s name. Resting on top of one of the bookshelves is a poster by artist Tom Morrison that says “Lake City.” Fish says the poster hung in her parent’s basement for years and it inspired her business.
“I feel like it captures a lot. I grew up on Lake Monona. The lakes are a big part of my life. Lake City is such a cool nickname that we don’t use enough. So, I’m kind of trying to make Lake City happen for Madison!” she says.
Luckily, it already has for book-lovers across the city.
120 S. Carroll St., lakecitybooks.com
MOLLY’S FALL PICKS
Lake City Books owner Molly Fish shares her latest must-reads.
“Under Story” by Chloe Benjamin
Like many Madisonians, we can’t wait for the latest release by Chloe Benjamin, a UW-Madison grad who only recently moved away to California. A breathless page-turner and a love letter to our planet, “Under Story” grapples with the great questions of our time: human hubris, the precarity of the natural world and the mysterious webs of consciousness that bind us.
“Exit Party” by Emily St. John Mandel
Our staff loved “Station Eleven” and can’t wait for “Exit Party,” another near-dystopian novel of doubles, shadow worlds and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman — a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State — searches for answers.
“Take My Word for It: A Memoir” by LeVar Burton
The legendary actor behind “Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Reading Rainbow” shares never-before- told stories from a life that has shaped generations — told at last on his own terms.
“Murmuration” by TJ Klune
A new TJ Klune novel is always a reason to celebrate at Lake City Books! This is a timeless romance set in a “perfect little town” — but there are no children or parents in Amorea, and no one who’s left town for the far mountains has ever come back. It’s perfect for fans of “Severance,” Stephen King and queer romance.
