The Happy Book Stack Coming This Spring

Downtown McKenzie continues to see rejuvenation as another business prepares to open its doors this spring.

The Happy Book Stack McKenzie is a used bookstore and coffee shop expected to open in April on the corner of Cedar Street and Broadway.

Owner David Jacobs is a longtime online book seller who opened his first brick-and-mortar store, The Happy Book Stack, in Murfreesboro in 2022.

Looking to expand in a small town, he found the former Urban Trading property on the market and, having a few connections to the area, he visited. He said he loved the property and loved the town immediately.

Jacobs grew up in Shelbyville and now lives in Bell Buckle.

Aside from the 10,000-plus books that the shelves will hold and the coffee shop with soups, salads, sandwiches and pastries, the shop will feature a back room to be used for classes and activities. Jacobs hopes to involve church groups and homeschool families in utilizing that space, but the Happy Book Stack will also host some of its own events.

The store will soon be looking for employees, including management and part-time positions. Jacobs estimates up to 20 will be employed.

The owner told The Banner, “I like books. I got my degree in English, but I’ve always been pretty business-minded. My wife was into thrifting, so we started selling some things online. Then as I was sourcing things for that, I got into doing books. People think there’s not money in books, and there’s not unless you figure out how to scale it. Books are very unique item to build a store with, because they’re all single, individual items. Many stores will have a hundred items, and you sell thousands of each a year. But you sell thousands of unique books over the course of a year, and you have to look at each one, evaluate each one, scan each one into the system. It’s kind of a personal experience.”

He also appreciates another unique aspect of running a bookstore. “I’m at the point now, having been in business, I could pick an industry to go into and be done with books. But the reason I’m sticking with this lane, books and coffee, is that there’s not many stores that people go into that usually everyone’s happy to be there. It brings something to the community that not many other stores can. You go into [other stores] because you have a problem or a need. Especially now that big chains have taken over most of industry, what stores do you go into that you’re actually happy to walk into these days? Not many. Books are still that for a lot of people. Especially when it’s a good value. We want to be a welcoming environment that meets the wants and needs of most people that walk in.”

The company acquires thousands of books per week, allowing for frequent rotation of available books at the two locations and online. (After utilizing existing platforms for years, Happy Book Stack now has its own website, thehappybookstack.com.)

The company will expand further with a location in Utah this year.

Jacobs said, “I appreciate the community’s support. I’m not a millionaire businessman parachuting into McKenzie. I’m doing this for the love of books, not the love of money. The book industry is hard, but it survives on the back of a community. I’m looking to help build that community here.”