“Obviously, if there is extra space there should be a radical bookstore,” says Mo Karnage, owner of Karnage Construction.

After renting a long, narrow storefront at 3006 1st Avenue as storage and office space, Karnage found that there was still room left over. Enough room for not only a bookstore, but also a coffee shop. The store’s name, and possibly also its motto, is By Any Beans Necessary. Karnage aims to open the shop’s doors next month in September.

Karnage has been remodeling the space since spring of 2024 to get it ready for its new life as a bookstore and café. Many of the building materials are reclaimed house parts, which Karnage had ready access to from their construction projects. Under layers of glitter, the top of the serving counter is made of several antique doors, which gives the impression that gravity has gone temporarily sideways.

Karnage is also building a ramp to make the building ADA compliant, and installing custom bookshelves. These tasks, along with some electrical and plumbing work, are the last steps before the store can open.

The café’s highly pun-based menu will feature espresso drinks and drip coffee made with locally roasted beans plus light food and herbal teas of Karnage’s devising. The shop currently has 500 pounds of coffee beans that Karnage bought from a nearby thrift store, which they plan to serve drip-style on a pay-what-you-will basis.

The literary side of By Any Beans Necessary will sell both new and used books. The used book section focuses on classics often needed by students, as well as popular and genre fiction. The new section fills out the collection with books that are hard to find in pre-owned form. It will also supply books that are most useful new, including “a bunch of cool craft, how-to, DIY-type books that I have to try very hard not to use myself,” Karnage says.

Karnage is making sure the store is well stocked with queer literature, books for kids, histories of social movements and books on radical politics. Another topic they want to make sure is represented at their shop is Richmond history. “I remember learning stuff in college about Richmond that I didn’t know growing up in Richmond. And I went to college in Massachusetts,” Karnage says. “How did we talk about lunch counter sit-down protests in school, and not talk about the ones that happened in our city?”

In addition to books, By Any Beans Necessary will sell goods made by local artists. Karnage’s friend and business partner Marie D’Angelo, (who founded and runs the Richmond Makers Market) will partner with Karnage on the local art section of the store. The store has already hosted several pop-up art sales. Karnage says these events went well, and may form the basis of long-term vendor partnerships. “There’s some folks who have just left their things here since the pop-ups,” they note.

Karnage intends the store’s artisan section not as competition with Richmond’s many pop-up markets, but as a complement to them. The store will provide an additional avenue of revenue for creators, and another place where people interested in locally made goods can find them. Artists may apply to be vendors through the store’s website.

Karnage is especially excited to stock locally made household necessities.

“You know, I need a pizza cutter. But I have to go get it at some big box store because nobody’s selling a locally made pizza cutter,” they observe. “What if we could push local people into making more daily use items?” Karnage intends to provide the push by providing the marketplace. They call the concept Unhinged Housewares. “Like, oh, you 3D print fried eggs? That’s cool. 3D print them on a doorknob.”

Another intention of the store is to provide a community gathering space. Karnage envisions craft nights, poetry open mics, sobriety support groups and readings by visiting authors. Even incomplete, the store’s seating area, with its purple and teal walls and soft orange couches, is pretty cozy. A book club has already moved in—Karnage says, “I just cleaned up.”

By Any Beans Necessary is currently fundraising to support the opening of the store. Those interested may contribute through their GoFundMe.