Home-grown publisher Epigram opens Beach Road pop-up bookshop

SINGAPORE - Two weeks after the pandemic forced Epigram Books to close its coffee bookshop, the home-grown publisher is rallying with a fresh pop-up.

The new store opens on Monday (Aug 16) and will run for five months at 267 Beach Road, a space owned by hospitality company The Lo & Behold Group. It was previously occupied by the reading room-cum-tea salon Looksee Looksee.

Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop, which Epigram opened in 2019 with coffee chain Huggs at the Urban Redevelopment Authority centre at 45 Maxwell Road, shuttered on Aug 1 and will remain closed till further notice.

The cafe was the first bookstore to sell only books about Singapore, by Singapore writers or published in Singapore.

It was badly hit last year by the Covid-19 retail slump and continued to struggle with rental costs amid the renewed restrictions of phase two (heightened alert).

The new pop-up will continue the focus on home-grown titles.

It will also have a complimentary capsule coffee machine sponsored by local brand Morning, which will be available to visitors on a pay-as-you-wish basis.

This is the second pop-up bookstore in Beach Road this year, after Chio Books by bookseller Anthony Koh Waugh, which ran from last December to February in City Gate mall.

The Lo & Behold Group managing partner Wee Teng Wen said in a statement: "Our mission at the group has always been to help make Singapore more lovable. We're passionate supporters of the local arts and we're excited to support Epigram and its commitment to cultivating our local literary scene."

Epigram Books founder Edmund Wee, 69, said he was grateful to the group for offering the space, "especially during difficult times such as these".

He added: "We're currently planning for more events to take place at our new space, so that's definitely something exciting to look forward to.

"We can't wait to further develop Singapore's dynamic literary landscape with our new partners in the months to come."

Where: 267 Beach Road
MRT: Nicoll Highway, Bugis
When: 11am to 10pm daily to the end of the year. Closed on public holidays
Info: Epigram's website