Is there a better ointment for insomnia than a good book? Page calms you down. But the Mission’s newest bookstore, Nightmare Potion, talks about far greater calamities than insomnia.
“The store is named after the nightmare we live in,” said co-owner Tân Khánh Cao.
Co-founder Josiah Luis Alderete picks up where his business partner left off, explaining in the book we can find a powerful antidote to our social malaise. , literature was the drug against nightmares, ”he explained. “That’s what you’ll find here.”
The description beautifully embodies how the co-owners are a graceful pair who work in tandem, hugging each other, ending each other’s thoughts and balancing each other out. I like to say
The shop opened in November last year following in the footsteps of the previous owner.Kate Lazo, a long-time bookstore owner in San Francisco— Sale of Alley Cat Books has been decided. Alderete and Cao Auckland-based Nomadic Presshe left the bookstore and returned to other projects.
The duo, who previously worked at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, have expanded the industry’s diversity by offering community books that are representative of the people who live here, not as a niche or a separate section, but as general literature and medicine. Addressing lack of sexuality. .
“It’s disgusting how many excuses have been used,” Cao said.
Cao and Alderete have created a space that is important to the community and already loved. Children come to hang out and read books. The store has hosted 22 events for him this month alone. There is a gallery space with music, poetry readings, and exhibits that change almost monthly.
“It feels great to be the neighborhood bookstore,” said Cao Cao.
Alderete believes North Beach is mistakenly identified as San Francisco’s literary district because of its association with city lights and the beat.
“Mission is the literary heart of the city,” he said, referring to former San Francisco poet laureate Alejandro Murgia (2012-2015). Comedian, author and performer Marga Gomez. Flor Y Canto Literary Festival and other nearby cultural venues Galleria de la Rasa When Brava Theater.
Alderete doesn’t hesitate to welcome a San Francisco State University student behind her to her class on community organizing.
“Es su casita,” he said.
