There are a number of cafés and bookstores in Durham. Many cater their spaces to certain audiences—teenagers picking up fantasy novels and frappés, young professionals typing away as they stir iced lattes, older readers sipping hot tea over lengthy memoirs.
Daughters Coffee & Books doesn’t forget about the toddlers.
Toward the back of the new South Durham café is a children’s corner stocked with used picture books, building blocks, and even a toy espresso machine for kids to mimic the baristas working across from them.
The concept ties closely with the shop’s name; owner Nicole Grinnell chose “Daughters” because of her close relationship with her mother and sister, all three having their own daughters. Grinnell’s is two and a half years old.
“My idea was if there’s a safe little corner for them to either read or have a little toy that they can play with while Mom enjoys a cup of coffee, even for five or 10 minutes—that could be the best five or 10 minutes of her day,” Grinnell says.
It’s not just the children’s nook creating a family-friendly environment. It’s also the colorful titles on the shelves, the handwritten menu on the wall, and the floral illustrations drawn by Grinnell’s friend, artist Adina Stephens, stretching across the shop’s front windows. Whether you’re five years old or 50, Daughters welcomes you.
Grinnell, who opened the café in April, says she hasn’t followed a traditional path. She never graduated college and felt stagnated working “jobs that didn’t feel like careers.” But through it all, she always had her books.
A collective space for local readers
Grinnell has “never been unhappy in a bookstore.” So when she sat down to really think about what she wanted to do with her life, she decided to open her own.
Daughters is located in Greenwood Commons near Parkwood in the space formerly held by Bull City Brewhouse. While Grinnell’s original vision for the space was focused entirely on books, she decided to embrace a café concept after seeing that the location already had a bar built in.
Although there are several bookstores in downtown Durham, the closest available to Parkwood residents is the Barnes & Noble at Southpoint Mall.
“As far as an independent bookstore, we’re the only one for miles,” the store’s bookseller, Frances Gasior, says. “I think that we’re catering directly to the neighborhood.”
Gasior keeps various perspectives, audiences, and ages—especially children—in mind as they add to the shop’s collection.
“For Pride we found some really cute glossaries of terms so that younger queer people can maybe put some language to their feelings, to their unknowns. And then for Juneteenth, we tried to focus on Black excellence,” says Gasior.
Grinnell says Daughters currently sells about 2,000 items, of which Gasior estimates at least 60 percent are used (or “pre-loved,” as the sign labeling the shelf reads). If shoppers can’t find a book, the shop will place an order for them with a 10 percent discount off the retail price.
Grinnell collaborates with her staff to add to the store’s inventory. Her team also works to craft the café’s menu, which is sourced from Carrboro Coffee Roasters and Ninth Street Bakery.
Along with standard coffee shop fare, Daughters offers a variety of specialty drinks. While some, like its “Cinnamon Bun Bookstore Brew,” are always available, the shop also offers a literary-themed seasonal menu.
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Daughters Coffee & Books. Photo by Angelica Edwards. -
The children’s area in Daughters Coffee & Books. Nicole Grinnell, the owner, says she felt inspired to name the store Daughters because of her relationship with her mom and sister, who each have daughters of their own like she does. Photo by Angelica Edwards. -
Nicole Grinnell, the owner of Daughters Coffee & Books, poses for a portrait. Photo by Angelica Edwards.
In spring, that included a “Daughter of the Forest” brown sugar and rosemary cold brew with vanilla cold foam and “The Love Hypothesis” raspberry and vanilla iced matcha latte. Grinnell says the café is currently preparing to launch its summer specials.
Although Daughters is relatively new to the area, Grinnell hopes to cultivate it into a collective space for local readers. The café hosted its first big event, a book signing with Raleigh-based author Annie McQuaid, on June 1.
“Something that I wasn’t expecting when we announced that we were opening and after we opened was how many local authors there were who were looking for a place to sell their books, a place to market them, [and] a place to meet with people in the community,” Grinnell says. “So that has been a big need in the community that we have been looking to help fill.”
As Daughters builds its presence in South Durham, Grinnell says future events will include a “coffee and conversation” session with a group of local writers and other authors collaborating with the shop to raise support for local nonprofit work.
Grinnell knows that if readers want a coffee and a book, they can make the drive to Southpoint or downtown. But she also knows that locally accessible, independent businesses like hers bring something special to their communities.
“This is all of our livelihoods and it needs to succeed,” she says. “There’s just another personal care that you get from coming to an independent store like ours.”
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