Walking into the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar feels like stepping back into the 1920s. While you won’t brush elbows with Thomas Wolfe, you can venture to the Fitzgerald Lounge to enjoy a drink after browsing the shop’s Middle-earth area — named after J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.
The two-story business has become a staple in downtown Asheville since Thomas and Donna Wright relocated the bookstore from the small mountain community Little Switzerland to the Grove Arcade in 2011 (after a brief stint inside the former Battery Park Hotel).
Last month, Erin Hallagan Clare and Matt Clare, the owners of Story Parlor, a multidisciplinary creative hub in West Asheville, purchased the Book Exchange. The couple say they intend to bring their penchant for literary readings and other events to the downtown venue…