The story of The Book Larder is the story of two dreams that crossed one day at a busy intersection.
My friend Kim Ricketts had always been a big dreamer. She dreamed of creating a different kind of book event—one where authors and readers would mingle and drink wine and talk. She had worked in a traditional bookstore and had grown tired of cookie-cutter events. She believed they could be done differently, done better.
Most of all Kim believed in the power of books connecting people. Her emails were all signed with the same quote, by Anthony de Mello, below her name: “The shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story.” She believed in stories, in smart people and big ideas and bringing all that together over a glass of wine.
Kim set up a company and began producing these sorts of events. Some of them were corporate and hidden from view—she brought authors to speak at Microsoft and Boeing and Nordstrom and other large companies—but she became known, especially in the Seattle food scene, for public events that paired chefs and cookbook authors with local restaurants to host a dinner drawn from the book, or for smart talk over a glass of wine. When David Chang or Thomas Keller or Ruth Reichl came to town, Kim was the one who set up the event.
A year ago last fall, Kim and I spent the day together. She told me she was planning on shifting her business, changing things around. She wanted to do something different.
Lara Hamilton was looking for something different as well. She had a successful career at Microsoft, but wanted something more fulfilling. She loved cooking and cookbooks, and had heard of Books for Cooks, the London store devoted to cookbooks. She was delighted by the idea, though the day she went to visit the store it was closed. “I pressed my face up against the glass of the windows,” she says. “I couldn’t believe something so wonderful existed.”
Lara and Kim connected with each other (on Twitter, no less), and Kim hired Lara to help with the book events company. One day, as they were crossing a busy intersection in Fremont, not far from Kim’s office, she told Lara, “I’ve been thinking of opening up—”
“A cookbook store?” Lara finished the sentence for her.
Now the dream had two champions.
Not long after that, Kim was diagnosed with a rare blood disease. She continued to run her company, battling her illness and working as much as she could between doctor’s treatments. She didn’t get to see her friends much during this time, but I still received cheery email messages she had written from the hospital or home in bed. They were always signed with the same quote: “The shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story.”
What most people didn’t know is that, behind the scenes, Kim and Lara were moving forward with their dream. They looked at a few sites, then one day Kim saw a “For Rent” sign on a storefront on Fremont Avenue as she was driving by with her sister. She called Lara and told her about it. Lara made arrangements to see the space—a former florist shop—and negotiated a lease.
Kim never got to see the bookstore that opened there this fall. She died in April, taking with her a big part of the heart of the Seattle food and book world. Even those of us who knew how sick she had been couldn’t believe this vibrant, warm, sarcastic joke-cracking, big dreamer of a friend and mother was gone.
And yet, Kim’s spirit is part of the bookstore she helped conceive. Last October, after a summer of hard work, Lara opened the doors to The Book Larder: A Community Cookbook Store.
“It was always very much about community,” Lara explained to me when I stopped by the store on a recent sunny afternoon. “About being a place where people would gather and hang out. Nothing pleases me more than when someone sits down at the counter with a stack of books and gets lost for an hour.”
Yes, I said counter—not only is The Book Larder a cookbook store, it has a kitchen as well. They can hold cooking demonstrations and classes and bake up a batch of brownies on a rainy Thursday afternoon. What could be better than opening up the door to a cookbook store and being greeted by the smell of baked goods?
The store got off to a busy start this fall, with a full list of book events and classes. This is where I got to hang out with Lynn Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift, and there were events with Michael Ruhlman, Patricia Wells, Adam Gopnik, and Melissa Clark. They held classes for vegetarian cooking and holiday baking and cooking with kids (these classes are being taught by some of my favorite people: Dana Treat, Ashley Rodriguez, Jessie Oleson of Cakespy).
In between the classes and events, the store is a lovely place to browse amongst a wide selection of books on cooking, preserving, and gardening. There’s a section devoted to the Pacific Northwest and, because Lara’s husband is English, a particularly strong British section (this is where I fell for the Sophie Dahl cookbook), as well as vintage books for collectors. There’s an entire corner devoted to sweets and treats. It really is the loveliest place to get lost in a stack of books.
“One thing I learned from Kim is that you have to go after what you want,” says Lara, standing behind the counter of the store she dreamed of and brought to life. “She was fearless, and that was a big lesson to me.”
That’s a big and important lesson for us all: sometimes you have to be fearless to go after what you want. Speaking on behalf of the Seattle food scene, and cookbook lovers everywhere, I am so glad that she was, that she did, that she gave us a beautiful cookbook store and a place to come together.
Book Larder
4252 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA
206-397-4271
Monday-Saturday: 11-6pm
Sunday: 12-4pm
NOTE: for those of you visiting Book Larder from out of town, there are good eats in the neighborhood. Across the street Paseo makes Cuban sandwiches that people line up for (cash only, closed Sundays, I recommend the Cuban Roast), Dot’s Deli just up the block is a charcuterie-lovers dream, and on the opposite side of Fremont Avenue, Via Tribunali offers excellent Neopolitan-style pizza and a lemony arugula salad I love. Come hungry!
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I’m practically speechless. I so want to go see the bookstore and visit the nearby eateries (thanks for the tips). If the shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story, you just told an amazing one, Tara, and your writing just gets stronger and stronger. I found this post so moving and inspiring, I wasn’t sure whether to weep or laugh with delight. What an amazing couple of women, and an amazing community around them.
Thank you, Terry. I did some weeping while writing it. It’s so wrong that Kim isn’t here to celebrate with us. Life breaks my heart sometimes.
That was a beautifully written piece sharing not only the life of a woman in touch with her world but also a lesson in dreaming and doing. Many of us dream, few of us DO. And what a wonderful book shop. This is one of the few times I wished I lived in the city again. Fantastic bookstores like this to get lost in for an hour! Thank you.. c
A beautiful sad story, written so lovely you can’t but celebrate a radiant life.
What a lovely and heartbreaking story. Not many of us truly have the courage to go after those huge risk taking, life altering dreams. I will go visit the store soon and remember how the dream came about. I love Fremont and I used to go there all the time. I still love the Sunday flea market. Thanks for bringing this sweet story to my attention.
What a gorgeous (not surprising) write up Tara. Thank you for that. I am proud to be a part of that place and look forward to working some more events with you soon.
More than anything, I love it that you went after your dream. It’s such a hard thing to do. I wish. However, having a friend helps you to move forward with some urgency. I can only wish I had that kind of friend. Congratulations.
Beautifully woven post, Tea, with gorgeous photos.
Did I ever tell you that once I had my students write their own obituaries?–and participated in the exercise myself? Out of nowhere, as I was writing, I had C saying, “She really loved the way that the written word could bring people together.” That’s my mission statement and true north, and I love that it resembles Kim’s so closely. I wish I could have met her.
You DID mention this to me. The idea took me aback at first, but now I love it and have thought of it often (especially this past sad year with Kim and Christina both). I don’t know that I can boil my mission statement into one neat package like that, but I’m working on it.
I LOVE the idea of this store. Such a beautiful, community inspiring thing. It sounds like Kim was a lovely, lovely woman.
This is so lovely, and inspiring, and sad but wonderful. Imagine having a cookbook shop as you legacy.
I must go here!
That will definitely be on my “must see” list for my next trip to Seattle.
Tea – hi! It’s been a long, long time since I commented on your blog. I dutifully read your posts because I love your voice and this is just another example. Thanks for sharing such a touching story. I have no doubts that Kim’s spirit is present in that lovely place (and who can resist a store with the word “lard” in its name?!). Thanks again for sharing this with everyone.
I’ve loved the idea behind this store since reading about it on Dana’s blog. I really hope to visit soon, whenever I get down to Seattle. Thanks Tea for telling the story behind the store in such a lovely, moving way.
This place looks fantastic. When I finally make it to Seattle I’ll definitely stop in. There’s a similar store (though sadly without a kitchen) in Toronto called The Cookbook Store.
Thank you for writing this story and about the store. I only met Kim once, after attending a few events, but she was an amazing person. I am so pleased that her dream came to fruition and sad that she didn’t get to soak it up in this life.
What a wonderful space they created!
I think Lara is stunningly beautiful! I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting The Book Larder, but I did get my sister a Book Larder gift certificate for Christmas. I’ll make the trek to Seattle this spring!
What a wonderful excuse for a day of fun reading and eating in Freemont.
Thank you for telling such a beautiful story that connects people… especially as a tribute to Kim. She sounds like my kind of gal. I hope someone describes me as “vibrant, warm, sarcastic joke-cracking, big dreamer of a friend and mother” some day, any day.
Gorgeous photos, amazing story, and truly beautiful shop. I would be patronizing the heck out of this place were it in my city.
I wish I didn’t live on the opposite side of the country! This place is so lovely and inspirational, as is the story behind it. If I even make my way to Seattle, I will remember to visit!
I meant to say if I *ever* visit
That is one of the best posts ever. What an amazing story and an incredible testament to your beloved friend. I just discovered your blog and it is wonderful!. I just purchased Tales From The High Mountain to share with my children and can’t wait to sit down and read it with them. Thanks for making my morning coffee time more enjoyable with your lovely blog!
Thank you, Dawn, for your support of the Japan project. Hope you enjoy it!
Every time I step through those doors, I think of Kim. She would have truly loved that place and added her awesome spiciness to the mix of “happy” there.
Wonderful post, Tara.
One more wonderful reason to visit Seattle! I, too, stood with my nosed pressed to the window of “Books for Cooks”, on my last day in London. So sad that I had missed a chance to browse there.
Thank you for the post, Tara.
I have visited The Book Larder twice now and am delighted to have this shop in Seattle! This is a lovely,moving tribute you shared for Kim Ricketts. I’m so happy her dream became a reality.
I loved how this post was written and how you painted the portrait of your friend. I’m only sorry she didn’t get to see the fulfillment of her dream…or maybe she does! And you also gave me a good kick in the pants to go out and do those things that I really want.
Best wishes.
What a wonderful bookstore. This is exactly the place where I would spend a couple of hours per week if I lived in Seatle. There are also many lessons in this story, but most of all–live your dreams.
By the way Tara, you are a gifted writer.
Thanks so much, Lisa, I would say it was the story that inspired me. It’s near and dear to my heart.
Hope you make it out to Seattle some day to visit!
I love, love, love wandering through the Book Larder after a delectable lunch in Fremont. It is such a treasure, I am so glad it has been brought to life in Seattle.