Long Story Books

Long Story Books is an independent neighborhood bookstore and café housed within a historic residence on Edgewood Avenue. Standing beside one of the street’s historic commercial buildings, the project recalls an earlier pattern of neighborhood development in which homes and small businesses existed side by side, creating the fine-grained, walkable character that defined Atlanta’s pre-war commercial districts. Rather than erasing the house’s domestic character, the design embraces it. The existing structure is carefully restored while a modest rear addition supports the bookstore’s evolving program. A new stair connects the main floor to an attic reading room and event space, creating a setting for author talks, book clubs, and neighborhood gatherings while preserving the intimate scale and rhythm of the original home. Throughout, new interventions remain deliberately restrained, allowing the building’s historic fabric to remain the primary expression of the architecture. Landscape design by Martin Rickles Studio and branding by Family Bros. extend the experience beyond the building itself, shaping the garden, identity, and public presence of the bookstore. Together, the project inhabits the space between domesticity and commerce, where the rituals of home become intertwined with the social life of the neighborhood.