A new locally-owned children’s bookstore is coming to Historic Uptown in early 2024. It’s called The Story Garden and it will be located in an 800-square-foot space at 832 14th Street North.

According to founder and owner Megan Kotsko, though, The Story Garden’s business model will be about much more than just selling books. 

“It'll be two-thirds retail, and then the back third of the space will be a children’s play space,” Kotsko told St. Pete Rising. “Our programming and events are going to bring people in.”

In addition to weekly story times and book clubs for children, The Story Garden will host an eight-week program for toddlers called Play Me A Story. Each one-hour class will feature a read-aloud followed by intentional play experiences tailored to extend the story’s content and build connections to the world. Dates and times are still being ironed out, but those interested can sign up for updates on The Story Garden’s website. 

Kotsko had hoped to open The Story Garden in January but said a March opening is now more likely. Whenever it opens for business, however, it will be a unique resource for St. Pete parents, providing a carefully curated selection of children’s literature, which Kotsko, a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher and current stay-at-home mom, knows well.

“There are so many amazing children’s books,” she said. “It’s going to be a process and a challenge to curate when I find out exactly how many books I can have. And I know I need to limit things — because of our size, we're not going to have 10 copies of each book unless it's some amazing new release that we want to push. We'll probably have about two copies of everything.” 

As for which titles she plans on stocking at The Story Garden, Kotsko says, “I want to be driven by our mission, which is really to have every child be able to come into our store and find a book that reflects their life, be it their culture, their religion, their ethnicity, their passions, and their interests.

On top of offering the best children’s books on the market, The Story Garden will also sell games, toys, cards, and reading accessories.

Prior to opening, The Story Garden will host a variety of pop-up events around town. First up is a story time and book sale at Runrun Kids Store at 10 a.m. this Friday November 17th. Then on Tuesday November 28th, The Story Garden will be vending at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club’s Christmas Boutique.

Kotsko, an Orlando native, is no stranger to St. Pete. She’s resided in the city since 2003 and the home she shares with her husband, Jason, and their two children is near the storefront where The Story Garden will be located — close enough to walk or bike to work, Kotsko said.

“It’s technically a neighborhood-scale retail space,” she said, adding that she and her husband are excited to restore the old building, which could have easily been torn down, and improve their local community. “It’s the cutest little shop.”

Kotsko’s research revealed that the property was built in the 1920s and was originally a neighborhood grocery store called Bon Aire Grocery. The building has a second-floor residential space, but she never saw anyone in the ground-floor shop.

“Since I've lived on 14th Street, it's been pretty much vacant,” she said. “You never saw anybody coming and going, but there was old stuff in it.”

After The Story Garden gets up and running next year, Kotsko hopes to eventually be able to serve coffee, but she’ll focus on books to start with.

“This was always a dream of mine,” Kotsko said. “After watching You’ve Got Mail years ago, I fell in love with the dream of one day running a children’s bookstore like The Shop Around the Corner — one that puts children’s interests and their innate gravitation toward immersing themselves into the world of story first; a store that was established for and fueled by the love of books for the youngest of readers.”

For more information and updates, visit The Story Garden’s website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.