Guests get 'Hooked' on bookstore/bar

By Chloe Gregg
Editor in Chief

Hooked is a new locally owned cafe bookstore with a twist: it serves alcohol.

This little shop is located centrally between Lansing and East Lansing at 3142 E. Michigan Ave., behind the Frandor Shopping Center, There, customers can meet up with friends for lunch and simultaneously peruse books as they sip on their favorite wine.

Matt Grossmann is one-half of the married couple who owns the shop, as well as a professor of political science at Michigan State University and the director of the Institute for Public Health and Research. His wife and co-owner of Hooked, Sarah Reckhow, is an assistant professor at MSU.

“We moved here from Berkeley, Calif., 16 years ago,” Grossmann said. “We were used to places that combined a cafe, a bar, sometimes with other pieces. So, we had long had something like this as a dream.”

A few years ago, during a sabbatical, the couple traveled to Massachusetts, where bookstores are very central to the culture in the area.

“We really liked that scene,” Grossmann said. “So when we came back, we decided to combine them (cafe, bar and bookstore) all with Hooked.”

When first discovering and building their business plan, Grossmann and Reckhow pursued free sessions at LCC’s Small Business Development Center in downtown Lansing. With the help of this business center, they were able to formulate a business plan that won them a finalist position in a business plan competition.

“A lot of our products, in addition to books, are Michigan-based,” Grossmann said. “We have lots of stickers that are ‘tongue-in-cheek’ Lansing pride.”

According to Grossmann, customers can enjoy a wide range of different foods and beverages. Some options are yummy baked goods from Sweet Encounter Bakery, gourmet crackers, cheese and meat boards, salads, tea, coffee, wine flights, coffee cocktail flights, and so much more.

Hooked also has its own book club that, with a monthly fee, customers will get a free book each month, 10 percent off, and a fun book club meeting with wine and snacks at the shop.

For those who want to do their own thing, Hooked has a large community table made from locally-sourced MSU wood that can seat plenty of people. Hooked even offers board games that paying customers can play.

Julie Eiler, a student at LCC, has chosen Hooked as her newest hangout spot.

“My friends and I love it there,” Eiler said. “We can play board games at the community table while drinking some wine. After that we can pick up a bottle of wine and a book to take home. It’s all of my favorite things in one.”

For more information about Hooked, visit the website here or call (517) 721-1330.