Meet Quinelle Bhandari | Books & Brew Co-Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Quinelle Bhandari and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Quinelle, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
At the inception of Books & Brew, we made a conscious decision to sow the seeds of intentional community engagement.

As a third space, Books & Brew offers a place between work and home where people can rest, gather, and connect—something all the more valuable in a post-pandemic world.

As a bookstore, we provide literary access not only for community members who may discover books they wouldn’t have otherwise encountered, but also for local authors seeking new ways to reach and engage readers. We extend that engagement through events like book signings, poetry readings, game nights, and networking gatherings—reminding people that spaces for connection still exist beyond screens and algorithms.

Books & Brew is still very small, but we strive to contribute meaningfully to the local economy in Tucker and Georgia. We carry non-literary items like candles, jewelry, and crocheted pieces handmade by local artisans—many of whom are also regular patrons. Our beverage selection is largely Georgia-brewed, and even our cookies are either baked in-house or sourced from a local baker just down the street. We take pride in reinvesting in the community that supports us.

On a broader scale, every day that our doors are open is a proof of concept—not just for a book bar, which is a novelty in itself, but for a values-driven, community-oriented, independent business.

-Quinelle Bhandari

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been told I carry a Renaissance spirit. Books & Brew has given me the rare gift of combining many of my artistic loves into one living, breathing space.

Once we secured the location for the bookbar, the planning began. At the time, the space was entirely vacant, lit by the kind of harsh overhead fluorescents you’d expect in an office. We met with the architect to decide where the bar, chairs, and tables would go, but the decor was all me.

I’m so proud of it—not just because I designed it, but because I did it entirely in my head. I was still away at school when we signed the lease, and while studying, I was also imagining Books & Brew. I hung the chandelier in my mind, chose the warm, welcoming yellow for the walls, and picked out pendant lights and hardwood floors between classes. I designed the bar and display table through email conversations with local woodworking companies. So once the contractor finished and the last piece of furniture was placed, I returned home and literally walked into a daydream I’d been having for months. So when someone comes in and says, “This place is so cute,” “this place is so cozy,” or “this store is so inviting,” and I get to tell them, “thank you, welcome in,” it is so deeply personal.

As a painter, I’ve always loved creating large abstract and impressionist pieces, but now my art doesn’t live in the vacuum of my home studio (art corner). It hangs on the walls of Books & Brew, alongside the voices, books, and lives that fill the space. The poetry I write in the notes app doesn’t live and die on my phone; instead, we make space to share our words and feelings here every other Friday. My theater work spills off the stage and into gatherings, conversations, and readings held in the space. The creative communities I’m part of don’t just support me—I hold space for them, too.

I try not to define my work too narrowly. So often, business people want to talk in terms of numbers and productivity, and profit margins. And while those things are incredibly important to making sure all of the trains run on time, the stakes are very high for us, and we want to continue to operate and hopefully support ourselves one day, it is important for us as a team to center ourselves in our purpose. I’m not just a businesswoman, an actor, a legal professional, or a painter. I make space for whatever creative or community-centered endeavor calls to me. It hasn’t always been easy. The best advice I’ve received is to do what you can, celebrate your successes, learn from your failures, and then let them go. Let your community support you, and most importantly, do not quit. It’s so much better to fail and learn than to quit and wonder “what if”.

My friends and my team (who happen to be my family) ground me when I feel overwhelmed, and I ground them in turn. We remind ourselves and each other that all of this is a labor of love—and that when I return to joy, the work begins to carry itself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Monday: My best friend arrives, and our very first stop is Fat Matt’s for dinner. This is always the first place I take someone as they have the best ribs in the city (maybe best in the state, maybe best in the region), and sometimes they have live musicians playing the Blues. After dinner, we head to The Local for Monday night karaoke.

Tuesday: We take a day trip to Roswell Mills with my husband, Nate, to enjoy the warm weather with some hiking and playing in the waterfall. Afterwards, we’ll meet up with some friends and go bowling at Comet Lanes in Decatur, where they have their $2 deals on Tuesdays.

Wednesday: Books & Brew opens for the week, and I’d bring my friend along to hang out, say hello to my mom, find a new book to read, and enjoy a delicious summer bowl and a nice cold beer or two from our selection. If the weather permits, we can take a stroll down Main Street in Tucker, GA, and visit some of the other businesses in our community.

Thursday: Thursdays are a natural rest day to lead into the weekend. We could make breakfast and enjoy it in the backyard while listening to the birds. If we have some extra energy, we could take the dog (Blueberry) for a walk around Stone Mountain Park.

Friday: I’d take my friend out to enjoy some of the city’s nightlife. Probably bar hopping around Edgewood or East Atlanta Village.

Saturday: During the day, we would take Blueberry to Fetch to let her run around while we enjoy a beer. For dinner, we would go to Barcelona Wine Bar for tapas in the city. Afterwards, we would head back to Books & Brew for board game night!

Sunday: We could stay home to regroup after a full week of activities or catch a matinee at the Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse. Afterward, I’d help my friend pack up, and we would say our goodbyes. Until next time!

Honestly, this was a great exercise as my best friend Zeman is coming to visit in August to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Books & Brew, and now I know exactly what we’ll do!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Books & Brew is a collaborative effort by a very small team. In addition to myself (Quinelle Bhandari), the bookbar is run by Irene Bethelmie—my mother—and Nate Bhandari, my husband.

While Irene is 1/3 of the business on paper, she is so much more than that. The idea for Books & Brew took shape during the pandemic. When I first suggested a bookbar, my mom turned the idea over in her mind—and then poured herself into it completely. That’s who she is: someone who invests fully in the things and people she believes in.

She’s long believed in my ability to dream up ideas that matter, and we’ve moved each other forward in that way—equal parts encouragement and inspiration.

While Nate and I were still away at school finishing our Juris Doctorate degrees, my mom was already laying the foundation: wrangling permits, meeting with surveyors and architects, securing leases, and building relationships with local business associations. And her momentum didn’t stop when we returned. She still cooks most of our menu herself and fills the space with the kind of warmth only a mother can bring.

Books & Brew simply wouldn’t exist without her.

Website: https://booksandbrew.net

Instagram: @thebooksandbrew, @pizzamondays

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebooksandbrew