DETROIT (WXYZ) — A Detroiter is giving back to his community by opening a brand-new bookstore on the city's west side.
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This weekend, the Howard Family Bookstore will open on Puritan Avenue, transforming a longtime vacant building into a community space.
"I went to school in this community, I played in this community, and I came back to this community after college and the Army," said Jerjuan Howard, owner of Howard Family Bookstore.
Howard remembers walking past the empty building on Puritan Avenue near Schaefer to and from school.
"It was built in 1953, and it originally served as a plumbing supply store, then it was a bar, then the church had its office space, and then it was vacant for a few decades," Howard said.
That was until June 2024, when Howard purchased the old building with the goal of using it to tackle issues he saw in the community.
"I believe that problem solving is the highest form of intelligence and at the time there was a need for a third space in this community, i.e. like a coffee shop, a tea shop or something like that. As well as the low literacy rates we have here in the city of Detroit," Howard said.
Now, that mission is coming to fruition. On April 25, the Howard Family Bookstore will officially open at the property.
"It's a bookstore by name, but I want this to really serve as a community hub," Howard said.
In addition to offering plenty of books, coffee, and tea, Howard envisions people holding meetings and workshops at the space. He especially wants it to be a location where young people can thrive.
"And we're going to reel them in, not just with the books but with programming. We're going to have a 3-D printer here, we're going to have an Oculus headset station here," Howard said.
Howard's aunt, Jamie Howard, will manage the bookstore. She says it has been amazing seeing youth eager for it to open.
"Coming, stopping by every day, like, can we help you something? That was just an awe moment for me, like wow," Jamie Howard said.
Howard hopes that others take what is happening at the bookstore and look at how they can improve their own neighborhoods.
"An abandoned building in a neighborhood in Detroit that someone grew up in to become what it is now, that story can be replicated," Howard said.
Howard Family Bookstore will hold a grand opening celebration on Saturday, April 25th at 11 a.m. It's located at 13803 Puritan Avenue.
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