A hidden treasure. Lovely book store with tasty coffee. It's inside across from the Y.read more

The Browsing Room Bookstore in downtown Cleveland is located inside the Galleria at Erieview mall…read morewhich is the same building the YMCA is located. The shopping mall is quiet because there are hardly or no stores in there as I only noticed one cafe or restaurant. I visited in 2025 because my friend's band was performing and I came to support him and his band mates. The owner, Jean, is nice and friendly. CAFE - Simple cafe with the basics of snacks, tea, and coffee. I think they offer sandwiches too. I've ordered tea during one instance and a muffin at another visit. The muffin was okay but edible. BOOKS -- Lots to choose from ranging from fiction, non-fiction, politics, religion, and much more. While the bookstore may not be that big, there is still plenty of variety. I even noticed the classic, Anne of Green Gables book, when I visited the bookstore in July 2025. I remember the TV series as a child. CLOSED NOW FOR A FEW WEEKS (June and July 2026) -- I ran into the owner recently at the Lakewood Library, in mid June 2026 and she was leaving the next day to Norway for vacation. She said the bookstore will be temporarily closed while she is on vacation. She returns the 2nd week of July 2026 from vacation, on July 13th, so the bookstore will re-open probably a few days after her return or maybe it will reopen on July 13th itself. Time will tell so keep an eye out for the re-opening. I've been here about 3 times and in those times, traffic to the bookstore was quite low. I hope they don't close down as some downtown businesses across the country are suffering from low sales and reduced customer traffic. I think if the owner of the Browsing Room Bookstore invites my friend's band or any other band to play more then this will increase the visibility of the bookstore which will cause more customers to come in to browse books and to hopefully spend money buying a book or two. **** GOAL of 250 reviews in 2026 - 138/250 total reviews in 2026 - 979 total Yelp reviews - Reviewed on 24 June 2026