Cozy, quaint, cute gnome-laden spot with good drinks and neat places to sit and read. Owner is awesome, and he throws poetry slams on Wednesday nights. Supporting small local businesses feels the best. Especially when they support artist communities.

The best locally owned bookstore in town, word on the street is the Gnomes come alive at night and bring books Into the shop.They host a local poetry slam every Wednesday that gives artist an opportunity to get on stage, the owner is such a cool guy (AND A GREAT POET) and is always welcoming to new comers, even remembered my name last time I stopped by;The area is prime downtown Phoenix, surrounded by a few bars and smoke shops full of locally made art. A guaranteed great night on the town 🌵

Cool coffee/ book shop hangout!Super good coffee and great atmosphere. Coffee was strong and delicious.

What a cool concept! I only had time for coffee on this trip, but I am excited to go back to peruse the selection of books and bring a friend. Fun setup offering up unique/local gifts, used books, mugs, art, and more. Also offers up open mic night and occasional music outside. Skip Starbucks and come here for an experience! Thank you for the delicious americano! Recommended.

A cute place to listen to poetry and find a great used book. My daughter fell in love with this store. We’ll be back!

Cute used bookstore. Nice guy running it. They have unique ideas and marketing. Blind date concept is great! And if you don’t know what that is, then you should stop by and check it out! Coffee setup is on point. You can also donate a book, like I did. Of course drop off one, leave with two.

Thought this place would be cool but then heard a lot of stories about the owner being an assaulter. Please listen to the victims and don’t go here or bring any children and if you do be sure to bring mase or some form of protection. So many survivors out there and it’s a shame when people don’t listen to there stories and the cycle repeats so please be careful.

Really awesome book store and cafe. They have open mic too. Owner and workers are all amazing 10/10 people, fantastic selection on variety of titles that will suit everyone. Great place to donate books that are collecting dust on your shelf. Art is very rad too as it is in the Roosevelt Row Art District of Phoenix. Probably one of my favorite places to go in phoenix when I feel like buying new reading material (favorite hobby thats not a sport). Definitely got to check out some time for a good experience

Looking to feel discomfort? You’ve found the right place, stop into Lawn Gnome and offer a better job to any of the sorely underpaid (if at all) employees, today! Be sure not to send in any women between the ages of 15-19 though. They will likely be tricked into working for free at this grimey establishment where they’re art and bodies will be taken advantage of and not given their full worth. Super fun.

Let me start this review by saying I LOVE GNOMES. THEYRE MY FAVORITE. I was walking around down town Phoenix, as one does, and when I saw the inviting gaze of the garden gnome painted on the wall of this establishment I rushed in. I bought a peewee Herman pin as well as a city of Phoenix pin. The bathroom was honestly just ok. I was a little disappointed to be frank. The lighting was almost non existent and it didnt look very clean. However I did much like the decorations. There was a large oil painting of a naked woman which was both striking and haunting. I was also a bug fan of the fake flowers in the coffee can. If the bathroom had a new light bulb and maybe got cleaned more than once every two weeks, Id definitely give it 5 stars.

The bookstore was alright. I’ve seen better in Mesa and tbh I prefer barnes and noble and I like supporting LOCAL businesses. So that says a lot. But this owner guy a weirdo too. Huge p word vibes. Don’t take children here if you care about them and shoot don’t even take yourself.

Worked there for months for under minimum wage as a college student, often not getting paid at all, often the dead of Phoenix summer with no air conditioning. Owner forms inappropriate relationships with employees, who are often young women. He barely maintains the space, takes advantage of others’ art for his own gain, and buys used books elsewhere to mark up in this shop. Avoid this toxic and unsafe space.

Would rate 0 if i could. owner is a known abuser and makes himself as an ally to take advantage of young people (especially women and queer folks). i’m sad to have ever gave him any of my money and shudder at the thought of interacting with him. not to mention the fact that the place is dirty, food has made people sick, and “employees” don’t get paid. 0/10.

- a review -It says to share the details of my own experience.I wrote and published 25 copies of my own book, during this time I was told about lawn gnome publishing, as it is the only publishing company I have heard of to be able to just walk in. I hate the internet, so this review is saying a lot itself. I was told by the owner Aaron, how he LoVeD my work and wanted to publish me, but because I’m not “famous” (his word) I needed to build an audience. This is when he offered to have me write zines for his shop. Being excited and my first time ever showing my work, I jumped at the opportunity. I finished my first work in about 12 hours. Went back and sat for three weeks to a month, without him printing copies. Due to a bRoKeN printer. I asked multiple times for a contract, in which he promised to get one to me. “Make an honest man outta me” he stated. “I’ll send it over tonight, so you can look cool to your family.”I NEVER received a contract. Nothing in writing.I asked him to quit selling my work, in fact I PAID him to take them off of the wall.DO NOT DO BUSINESS HERE.THIS WAS THE WORST BUSINESS EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. and will most likely always be.Such a disappointment.

I dont write reviews often, so take that as a note of high praise for the excellence of this tiny bookshop. There are plenty of books to read (my favorite being the blind dates and old antique books), the food and coffee is great, and the atmosphere is welcoming. My friends and I come here frequently, and whenever I introduce a buddy of mine to the place they immediately fall in love with it. Owner is kind and helpful. Come here whenever you can! Stores like this is what makes Downtown Phoenix awesome!

How does this place pass health inspections? This place is so dirty. There are no paper towels, NO SOAP (which should be illegal since covid), and the tp lies on nasty surfaces. There are clearly health code violations going on. Besides work by locals, the selection of books is really disappointing. For all its crowdfunding, this business falls short of what Phoenix deserves. Go elsewhere if youre looking for a safe or community space.

Don’t support this place. So many other establishments in Phoenix to support that are actually safe spaces.

I used to go here on First Fridays and was always on edge and just felt a weird energy. Now years later I’m hearing some pretty serious allegations about the owner of this business and the weird vibes I felt make sense now. Don’t support this business and don’t be fooled by the narrative the owner is trying to maintain.

Filthy, needs some deep cleaning. Bad coffee. Do not go in the bathroom. The owner followed me onto the bathroom.

This place is AMAZING! The owner is so nice and accommodating. I performed in my first poetry slam there and I was so nervous. The crowd is so easy going and supportive though so I’m glad I did it and excited to go back. The vibe is awesome, the shopping is good and so are the snacks & drinks!!

I stopped in for last minute Christmas presents and Aaron obliged. After calming this fretful mother with a hot cup of tea he helped me pick books for my children and we stuffed them in a reasonable priced new backpack (also a present). As far as Im concerned, hot tea (and coffee too) and gently loved books are a perfect combo.

Owner is a serious creep and cleanliness doesn’t exist in this establishment. Overall, straight garbage.

Exceptional coffee - and a great selection of books for not a lot of money. Poetry slam every Wednesday night. Definitely seek this place out.

Great little book store. They are able to order and find rare books for you as well!! Just ask the shopkeeper. Friendly shopkeeper, and they have coffee+tea available for purchase while youre browsing. What a great gem in the neighborhood!

Went to a poetry reading, and had a Great time!

I cannot support this business with current ownership. They have no place in the Arizona Arts community.

I regret ever having met the owner. Steer clear.

Tasty iced coffee, eclectic book selection and best of all its gnome friendly.

Weird vibes, bad coffee. Dude at the front creeped me out. Will not be coming back.

Great outdoor area. Went to Poetry Slam and really enjoyed it.

This is not a safe space (for young women, for our community or for our art scene).

The service was amazing!! Welcomed me and my friend with $1 LGBQT+ pins. I will be back soon!

Bad hygiene. I got so sick from the coffee here. And I guess they have no health license???

Dust. Dust. Dust. Yeah. I cannot believe a downtown establishment is allowed to be open when that not only takes our crowd funds but does not clean their own shop??

The cold brew here has been one of the best ones Ive had

Dive bookstore with odds and ends, including tiny fairy doors.

Friendly neighborhood bookshop and coffeeshop.

Super whack no good rotten bloke

God Bless Aaron and this place

Creepo owner. Bad selection. Opened in the midst of a pandemic despite already having the safe alternative of an online store already.

Art sold inside is ugly

👎

This is the type of place to go, if you want to find a book that felt like it was specifically waiting for you. A unique spot, a quintessential small business doing its part to spread the love of literature + reuse the good stuff: books! Also, if you’ve been wondering where you can perform some of your own written work, look no further. Check the website for events;)

Closed. both addresses Google gave led to an old address or an unassuming store front that was closed. even after Google said they were open. we are from out of town and were really excited to see this place. The wild goose chase, a la Google, was extremely disappointing. Update your info.

I am absolutely in love with their poetry slams that they have on Thursday nights. Whats nice is that they have a speaker pointed outside when the shop becomes too full, but I would like if they could turn the speaker up a little bit so it does not have to compete with the den of the street traffic as much. I hope thats an option because I know that they share the parking lot with multiple businesses.

Disgusting.

Nestled in the heart of the Roosevelt Row District in Phoenix, AZ, this is a great place to read a book, tell a story, or attend Poetry night. They have such an eclectic collection of books, theres something for everyone.And theres coffee and ice cream nearby.

Hip bookstore with local art and great vintage style. One of my favorite places in Phoenix.

This place is awesome, good prices on books and they have a poetry slam every month and an open mic night every monday with a really forgiving crowd! Has a great atmosphere too!

Small variety of books & a creepy owner. No thanks. Better off at a bookmans.

Great new location on Central and a wonderful small business. If they dont have the book you are looking for, they can order it from a network of other used bookstores.

Great place to find treasure of ghosts who no longer roam the Earth...Or do they?-M:CÆL

Nice independent vintage book shop, a little bit of everything, rare books, helpful staff

It doesnt have anything but outdated books.

The owner was extremely friendly, and his price on hand-wrapped crystal pendants super reasonable. What a find!

Live entertainment, old books, and friendly staff. I used to stop by every Monday & Wednesday for open mics, and it was always a great time.

Hip local book shop! Love the extra features from local artists.

Great open mic ran by Lou Moon.

A neat little book store with a lot of popular titles. Extensive .25 collection outside.

THEY WERE COOL

Bad business practices, bad selection. Don’t shop here

Loved the poetry slam.

Always local events and poetry slams going on behind the shop.