Coloring books for adults are flying off the shelves at the Babbling Book. (Jillian Rogers)
A Haines bookstore will be going through some changes in the next few months.
Jojo Goerner, the owner of the Moosterious Emporium says she will be moving her business from its location on Main Street and shifting her focus from books to art and music.
“I’m going to call it Chilkat Lounge,” Goerner says. “It’ll be art retail, music retail and a space for music lessons and just a place to create more opportunity for music education, art education as well as a spot to get that kind of stuff here.”
Goerner is looking at locations for the new shop. Although the Moosterious Emporium will be closing at the end of November, Haines won’t be losing a bookstore for long.
Sitka resident Amy Kane plans to open a new bookstore at the Main Street location.
Kane has been in and out of Haines over the years. She has a background in cooking and worked in the kitchens of a few businesses in town. She has been trying to find a way to move to Haines long term.
“I heard rumors that maybe Jojo wanted to move on from the Moosterious Emporium,” Kane says. “I got really excited and I started putting out feelers to see if I could maybe get that space to have a bookstore again.”
Kane says she has always loved stopping into the bookstore. She’s excited to make the space her own.
“Just kind of clean it up, get a different floor in there. A new coat of paint. And then I’m really curious to hear what Haines wants from their local bookstore. I think the success of the business will be dependent on that community interaction.”
Kane says she will be moving to Haines in December and hopes to open the new bookstore in February.
