ROCHELLE — Rochelle Book Hub will open Saturday, July 20. The new-to-town bookstore will be located inside Cypress House at 718 10th Ave. 

Rochelle Book Hub Owner Jacklyn Mlejnek said she’s been interested in opening a bookstore in recent years and went to view the open space at Cypress House. She then put together a business plan and came to an agreement for the space about six weeks ago. 

Rochelle Book Hub will be open 9-3 p.m. on Saturdays and from 11-4 p.m. on Sundays. Mlejnek said the business will only be open on weekends to start out. The main focus of the shop will be fiction books.

“That will be all genres of fiction, such as romance, thrillers, crime, fantasy, and sci-fi,” Mlejnek said. “Since it's a smaller space I figured we'd mainly focus on fiction. It will be adult, young adult and it will have some children's books. We'll have some book accessories as well like coffee mugs, bookmarks and maybe t-shirts. In the future I'd like to hire someone so we could be open more hours. I hope to be able to order books for people. I can preorder books that aren't out yet. I'll have a local author spot and we'll do events like book signings. We'll eventually have a book club and I hope to have a writing club.”

Mlejnek and Cypress House announced plans for the bookstore in recent weeks and she said she’s been happy to see support and excitement from the community since.

“There is nothing like this in Rochelle,” Mlejnek siad. “There's no bookstore. There is only the library. If there are people like me, I like to have the book and own it and keep it to reread. People are really excited about it. I think that's because there hasn't been a bookstore in Rochelle before. I think it's something that Rochelle needs.”

Mlejnek has always had a love for books and reading.

“Reading is vital for everyone to get through life,” Mlejnek said. “Certain books touch us at certain points in our life. When you're going through something, you can always find some comfort in a book. There's always something to help you through. It doesn't have to be a self-help book. It could be a fiction book that deals with problems you're having. That helps. I hope to bring that to the Rochelle community.”

Mlejnek has spent her weekends and nights after work putting the shop together, including constructing bookshelves, ordering books and hosting a book buying event. She believes her business will mesh well with what Cypress House offers.

“I hope it becomes a spot that the community can come to for a spot to relax,” Mlejnek said. “I will have chairs so people can come and read. They can grab a coffee or tea at The Cypress House and come back here or they can take a book out on the patio. In the winter they can sit in the greenhouse and read.”