2 Dads and a Bookstore opens in Bellevue, hoping to empower the community through reading

The bookstore is located at 1015 Galvin Road South in Bellevue

62 DEGREES. NOW BACK TO KALE AND JONAH. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, LUKE. TIME NOW, 748. IT IS SUNDAY, SO WE’RE BACK WITH ANOTHER SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT. AND THIS WEEK, WE’RE SHINING A LIGHT ON A NEW BUSINESS WITH A STORY OF ITS OWN. NOW, IN JUST THE SPAN OF 90 DAYS, TWO DADS AND A BOOKSTORE OPENED ITS DOORS TO THE COMMUNITY IN BELLEVUE. THIS MORNING, WE’RE JOINED BY THE OWNERS, FEARLESS AND NELIGH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAKING UP WITH US. LISTEN, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. YOU DON’T HAVE IT’S YOU HAVE A UNIQUE BACKSTORY TO THIS STORE. SO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION COME FROM? WELL, ME AND MY BUSINESS PARTNER HERE, WE HAVE BEEN FRIENDS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. WE WORKED AT AN AGENCY TOGETHER AND HONESTLY, WE DID NOT KNOW THAT WE BOTH HAD A MUTUAL INTEREST IN READING UNTIL LIKE A RECERTIFICATION TRAINING. THEN WE HAD THIS RECERTIFICATION TRAINING AND FOUND OUT, LIKE DURING THE BREAK OF IT, LIKE I REALIZED HE LOVED TO READ. AND THEN SINCE THEN WE BECAME GOOD FRIENDS. AND YOU KNOW, EVER SINCE THEN, EVERYTHING JUST KIND OF TOOK OFF. SO YEAH, GOOD FRIENDS BUSINESS PARTNERS, FEARLESS. HOW DID Y’ALL, MAN GAGE TO OPEN THIS IN JUST 90 DAYS. WOW, THAT’S TOOK A LOT OF WORK. UM, BASICALLY, MY GUY HAD A BUNCH OF BOOKS AND WE FOUND A PLACE OVER IN BELLEVUE, AND, I MEAN, EVERYTHING JUST KIND OF FELL TOGETHER. IT WASN’T. IT WAS KIND OF ORGANIC. WE DIDN’T HAVE TO REALLY WORK FOR ANYTHING OR, UM, BEG FOR ANYTHING. I MEAN, IT JUST KIND OF FELL IN PLACE VERY QUICKLY, THOUGH. AND THEN TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR BOOKSTORE IS DIFFERENT. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE A UNIQUE BACKSTORY, BUT YOU ARE REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON HELPING LOCAL AUTHORS, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. SO OUR BOOKSTORE IS VERY UNIQUE BECAUSE WE ARE PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY FEW STORES THAT GIVES 100% OF THE REVENUE THAT THE AUTHORS MAKE BACK TO THEM. WE JUST WANT TO GIVE THEM A PLACE, A PLATFORM SO THAT THEY CAN SHOW THEIR WORK TO THE COMMUNITY AND PLUS OUR SPACE IS COOL. AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU COME THERE, HAVE FUN CONVERSATIONS, RELATIONSHIPS LIKE IT’S NOT JUST YOUR TYPICAL QUINTESSENTIAL BOOKSTORE. LIKE IT’S A VIBE IN THERE. OKAY, THAT’S WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO CREATE. SO YEAH, AND YOU CALL IT ORGANIC, BUT WHERE DOES THE PASSION COME FROM? JUST READING. WE LOVE TO READ, LOVE TO JUST SAT DOWN, BUT WE WE CREATED SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED OURSELVES BUT NEVER GOT IT. SO BARNES AND NOBLES, THEY’RE ONE OF THE LAST OF A DYING BREED OF A STORE THAT HAD A COUCH. IS DRINKS. KIND OF LIKE A VIBE WHERE YOU CAN GO IN AND SIT DOWN AND WE ONLY HAVE ONE AND THAT’S OUT. AND WHEREAS THAT I WANT TO SAY THAT OUT. OKAY, YEAH, IT’S OVER BY OAK, BUT WHAT ABOUT US WHO LIVE IN EITHER COUNCIL BLUFFS OR THE NORTH SIDE OF OMAHA OR BELLEVUE? RIGHT. WE GET TIRED OF DRIVING ALL THE WAY OUT THERE. THAT’S RIGHT. SO WE WANTED SOMETHING A LITTLE CLOSER, BUT THAT GAVE YOU THE SAME. THE SAME VIBE. EXACTLY. SO WOULD YOU SAY THAT’S ULTIMATELY THE MISSION THEN, TO INSPIRE THAT READING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY? ABSOLUTELY. COMMUNITY FIRST AND AND AND PIGGYBACK RIDING OFF OF THAT IS EDUCATION OR WHATEVER END. BUT DON’T MEAN EDUCATION FROM THE STANDPOINT OF GOING TO SCHOOL, BUT IT’S EDUCATION AND THE FACT THAT CONSISTENTLY LEARNING, NO MATTER WHAT FORM IT COMES FROM. AND I HAVE TO QUICKLY ASK YOU TWO BLACK MEN OPENING A BOOKSTORE OR DO YOU THINK THIS BREAK DOWN ANY STIGMAS OR SHOW YOUNG BLACK BOYS READING IS SOMETHING THAT’S COOL READING IS SOMETHING YOU CAN GET INTO. WE READ, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. I MEAN, THAT’S LIKE HOW LONG HOW MUCH TIME WE GOT? FIVE MINUTES TO LIKE, FATHERS WE LOVE BEING FATHERS. IT’S ONE OF MY THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. AND WE LOVE TO READ. AND IT’S JUST THIS BEAUTIFUL DYNAMIC BETWEEN ME AND THIS GUY. AND WE’RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TACKLE SO MANY DIFFERENT ISSUES IN OUR COMMUNITY IF WE’RE ABLE TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY. AND, YOU KNOW, SO IT’S COOL. SO YEAH, WE LOVE IT. AND NOT JUST THAT, THOUGH, BUT WE’RE ALSO DOING IT. I MEAN, LET’S BE FRANK HERE. IN A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE CITY. SO WHICH MEAN BELLEVUE HAS BEEN AMAZING TO US NOW THEY LOVE US. AMAZING. YEAH. SO MEAN. AND WHEN WE KIND OF CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO BUILD IT, THERE AS OPPOSED TO OMAHA, WE WERE BOTH KIND OF LIKE, YEAH, BUT I’M LIKE, BRO, THERE’S A NEED FOR IT. YOU GOTTA GO. THERE’S A NEED. EXACTLY. AND THEY, THEY HAVE RESPONDED VERY WELL. YEAH. AND READING IS COOL, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA START READING NOW USING A MICROWAVE SOCIETY, PEOPLE WANT TO BE ON TIKTOK ALL DAY. PICK UP A BOOK. COME ON. WHAT ARE WE DOING? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH US THIS MORNING. THANK YOU. AND IF YOU WANT TO STOP IN THERE NEAR BELLEVUE UNIVERSITY, J

The bookstore is located at 1015 Galvin Road South in Bellevue

2 Dads and a Bookstore is the newest business to open its doors in Bellevue to be a haven for literature, community and heartfelt conversations. Friends and business partners, Fearless Cummings and Andile Mahlageni-Byndon, said the idea clicked after realizing they shared a love for reading during a training session at their previous job.”Since then, we became good friends and ever since then everything took off,” Mahlageni-Byndon said.After that moment, the pair began the planning process to open the business and it only took them 90 days.”That took a lot of work. My guy had a lot of books, we found a place over in Bellevue and everything just kind of fell together,” said Cummings. The bookstore located at 1015 Galvin Road South in Bellevue is designed to foster a sense of relaxation and camaraderie to be more than just a bookstore. Mahlageni-Byndon and Cummings want their space to be a place where everyone in the community convenes while serving as a business that promotes and gives back to authors. “Our bookstore is very unique because we are probably one of the only few stores that give 100% of the revenue that the authors make back to them. We just want to give them a place and a platform where they can show their work to the community,” Mahlageni-Byndon said.They call their new business “cool,” saying it’s not the quintessential bookstore, but a “vibe.”According to Cummings, their passion for reading and the creation of the bookstore comes from what they wanted themselves and never got.”We wanted something a little closer that gave you the vibe,” Cummings said. The pair said the Bellevue community has embraced them with open arms, pouring into the shop to check out books and make purchases.As Black fathers, they also said their business is breaking stigmas and showing young Black boys that reading is fun, cool and something they can fall in love with.”It’s just a beautiful dynamic and we can tackle so many different issues in our community,” Mahlageni-Byndon said.The pair said they’re happy to open their doors, servicing a community where they saw a need.You can find out more about 2 Dads and a Bookstore by visiting their website.

BELLEVUE, Neb. —

2 Dads and a Bookstore is the newest business to open its doors in Bellevue to be a haven for literature, community and heartfelt conversations.

Friends and business partners, Fearless Cummings and Andile Mahlageni-Byndon, said the idea clicked after realizing they shared a love for reading during a training session at their previous job.

“Since then, we became good friends and ever since then everything took off,” Mahlageni-Byndon said.

After that moment, the pair began the planning process to open the business and it only took them 90 days.

“That took a lot of work. My guy had a lot of books, we found a place over in Bellevue and everything just kind of fell together,” said Cummings.

The bookstore located at 1015 Galvin Road South in Bellevue is designed to foster a sense of relaxation and camaraderie to be more than just a bookstore.

Mahlageni-Byndon and Cummings want their space to be a place where everyone in the community convenes while serving as a business that promotes and gives back to authors.

“Our bookstore is very unique because we are probably one of the only few stores that give 100% of the revenue that the authors make back to them. We just want to give them a place and a platform where they can show their work to the community,” Mahlageni-Byndon said.

They call their new business “cool,” saying it’s not the quintessential bookstore, but a “vibe.”

According to Cummings, their passion for reading and the creation of the bookstore comes from what they wanted themselves and never got.

“We wanted something a little closer that gave you the vibe,” Cummings said.

The pair said the Bellevue community has embraced them with open arms, pouring into the shop to check out books and make purchases.

As Black fathers, they also said their business is breaking stigmas and showing young Black boys that reading is fun, cool and something they can fall in love with.

“It’s just a beautiful dynamic and we can tackle so many different issues in our community,” Mahlageni-Byndon said.

The pair said they’re happy to open their doors, servicing a community where they saw a need.

You can find out more about 2 Dads and a Bookstore by visiting their website.

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2 Dads and a Bookstore opens in Bellevue, hoping to empower the community through reading

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