APPLETON (NBC 26) — A new bookstore and coffee shop is opening in a former VFW building in Appleton, offering a unique alternative to traditional bars in the Fox Cities area.
Katherine Fruend has spent the last year transforming the VFW hall on North Richmond Street into Tardigrade's Bookshelf, a combination bookstore, coffee shop and bar that serves non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic drinks.
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After previously working as the director for the Little Chute Library, Fruend created the concept with her husband Steve, her high school sweetheart. Both are Army veterans and their two children currently serve in Hawaii and Egypt.
"We were never hangout bar people, just never comfortable in that setting," Fruend said. "We kind of took all the things we loved and melded them into one pot and it turns out like this."
The couple says their goal is to create a safe and intimate space with lots of options for socializing.
"We over-emphasize drinking in our area and I really wanted there to be an option to go and be social and to hangout where that's not the emphasis," Fruend said.
The mocktails are designed by Steve Fruend, who teaches science at UW Oshkosh. He uses his science background and mixology to create unique flavors found on the bookshelf's menu.
Fruend says starting a business in a VFW felt meaningful as veterans taking over a space where veterans once gathered to swap stories and memories.
Tardigrade's Bookshelf will hold its grand opening on Friday with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m.
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