(originally written in April 2024)
While friends and family in Texas are already at least a month into spring by late March, in Anchorage we’re savoring every hint of sun to melt the giant mounds of snow and warm the skin we dare to expose. I took advantage of a precious sunny day to revisit a local Anchorage treasure in the Spenard district, The Writer’s Block Bookstore & Café. A popular spot for readers, writers, artists, and thinkers, The Writer’s Block is a small coffee shop/restaurant/bookstore/event space. For being so small, it serves a big role in the local creative community, and community is a word that definitely comes to mind when you’re there.
When I see their accounts on social media, I’m struck by the impressive number of community events held there: fundraisers for charities, poetry slams, book readings and launches, live music, open mics, speakers, album releases, holiday parties, to name just a few. It’s a lot for a space small enough to visually scan from one spot in the room.
On this rare sunny day in March, I crossed my fingers that I’d find a parking spot in their small, narrow lot. The melting snow created deep puddles, which other patrons likely wanted to avoid. Not being the most observant person, I found an empty spot but didn’t realize it was over a large puddle until I was stepping into water up almost up to my ankles, but claiming a spot just the same.
Entering the café, I saw one wall full of windows letting in the beautiful natural light. Another wall had a long counter, behind which several employees were taking and fulfilling orders for drinks and food. The menu offers all the usual coffee and tea drinks plus some baked goods, salads, soups, sandwiches, and alcoholic drinks amusingly called “blocktails.”
The area in the middle of the café has several tables and chairs, and there is also a plethora of seating options sprinkled amongst the shelves of books. Along the walls are shelves covered with a very curated collection of books for sale. Genres include literary fiction, graphic novels, middle-reader, fantasy, horror, sci-fi, spec-fic, Alaska, play, poetry, essay, etc. It’s clear the people who run this establishment are readers.
As I sat down with my Moroccan mint fog and lemon cake to ready my current book selection, Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree (a cozy fantasy that was honestly a little too fantasy for my personal taste), it occurred to me that The Writer’s Block could have come straight out of that novel. A cozy place that serves the locals, brings in regulars, and has enough going on to keep people-watchers entertained. The atmosphere feels friendly and hospitable, but there’s also space for anonymity, to focus, work, or study. It’s the kind of place I feel so lucky to have in Anchorage.
Cozy in Alaska 