The 814: Pressed Books+Coffee+Gifts

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Hannah Brooks, Staff Writer

Pressed, a coffee-lover and book-lover’s dream all in one, is located at 1535 West 8th Street at Greengarden Place. This business is in a great location just off the Bayfront, near a park, and nestled within a plaza full of other shops that anyone will love.

This convenient location makes a great study spot during the week or a perfect “treat yourself ” week-end outing. Pressed is a one-of-a-kind locally owned and operated bookstore, cafe and gift shop that has been open since April of 2018. I checked out Pressed’s cafe and bookstore this past week and can say that I am very glad that I did.

Admittedly, I have been wanting to check it out for quite some time and picking up an article about the coffee shop gave me the perfect excuse to go; it worked out splendidly. The atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming, but it was also quiet enough that it would be easy to be able to focus on reading or schoolwork without a lot of loud background noise. I tried an iced coffee with a shot of hazelnut and a vegan chocolate chip cookie.

The coffee tasted amazing, and the cookie was giant and also tasted wonderful. In addition to drinks, the cafe also offers a lot of baked goods such as cookies, muffins, macaroons and more. The cafe has your typical coffee shop offerings: your espressos, brewed coffee, lattes, etc. They also offer teas and milkshakes if you aren’t quite a coffee person. One thing that really stood out to me was the vast number of flavors that they offer, from your regular hazelnut and vanilla, down to unique flavors such as lavender, raspberry and strawberry. One thing that I also particularly liked was the names of some of the drinks, such as the “Oreo and Juliet Milkshake” and “Othello Espresso Shake.”

The seasonal flavors also have all sorts of great literary-themed names like “The OutCiders” and “Sleepy Hollow.” Their featured seasonal drinks have a lot of variety. Some of the drinks featured for the month of October include Butterbeer, Candy Corn, Mars Bar and Almond Joy lattes. The Caramel Apple Ci-der is a must-try in my opinion.

As mentioned, the bookstore portion of the business is located just one door over from the café, and each can be accessed from the other. The bookstore offers a very wide range of genres, just a few examples being sci-fi, cookbooks, history, mystery, philosophy and many more.

In addition, there is a kid’s corner that is filled from floor to ceiling with children and young adult books and novels. There is even a tree-house fort for children to read in as well. According to the Pressed web-site, boxed sets are always twenty percent off, whether you purchase online or in-person. It is also to be noted that books can be reserved by filling out a form on the Pressed website.

There is also an option for customers to shop online and either pick up at the shop or have books shipped to their homes. In addition to books, the shop also serves another purpose as a gift shop. If you are looking for a gift for anyone soon, definitely check out Pressed for some cute and unique gifts.

Overall, Pressed is a great spot with a lot to offer. No matter what you get, you’re bound to love it. I highly recommend checking out this business, which is just one of many local gems that Erie has to offer. The hours vary by day and the bookstore’s hours are different from the cafe’s hours, so make sure to plan accordingly.

For the most accurate information on hours and menus, one can check out their website at www.pressedbooks.com. Stay tuned for our next edition of The Merciad to see what The 814 features next!