Downtown Dayton bookstore to hold grand opening today featuring new partnership

Credit: Facebook Photo

Credit: Facebook Photo

Rabbit Hole Books, a secondhand bookstore in downtown Dayton, is celebrating its grand opening Thursday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m.

The bookstore will also introduce its partnership with I Heart Ice Cream, a Thai-inspired rolled ice cream business.

The bookstore, filled with thousands of books for all ages costing $1 each, kicked off its soft opening Dec. 14 at 27 W. First Street before expanding into the space next door.

Larkin Vonalt, executive director of Dayton Book Fair, previously said the expansion includes additional books as well as seating, a chess table, a long counter for I Heart Ice Cream and more.

“The original tenant of the 1927 building storefront was Kalter’s Ice Cream, so it is fun to be returning to one of the building’s first uses,” Vonalt previously said.

I Heart Ice Cream will be present at the grand opening but is not expected to officially open inside the bookstore until March or April, according to a Rabbit Hole Books Facebook post.

Dayton Book Fair is a nonprofit organization that collects books year-round and then sells them online and at its annual sale. Proceeds from the sale benefit three local nonprofits each year.

The grand opening celebration will feature a presentation of $10,000 checks to three beneficiaries of the 2022 Dayton Book Fair. The organization will also announce three beneficiaries of the 2023 Fair, according to the aforementioned post.

“What we’re looking forward to the most is exploring this new way to connect with the community over books,” Vonalt previously said. “We’ve been providing books in this community and helping people with a meaningful place to donate their books for more than 50 years.”

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