After 20 years, Cambridge’s Porter Square Books has left its small but much loved location in the Porter Square Mall for a much larger new location. Located just a thousand feet away from the original location, the new home of the beloved community bookstore has received mixed reviews.
Although many love Porter Square Books regardless of the location, some long for the nostalgia and comfort of the old location, such as Astor Corsentino ’26, who told the Register Forum, “Growing up, we would go to the old Porter Square Books [and] there was such a sense of community and connection.” Corsentino, along with many CRLS students who grew up in Cambridge, is disappointed with the new location, saying, “I’m glad they were able to expand their business, but it has a much sadder vibe.” This sentiment was echoed by Nico Rosenberg ’27, who told the Register Forum that “it feels like a Barnes & Noble.” Owner David Sandberg responded to this, telling the Register Forum, “Because we didn’t have enough space [at the old location], it felt very crowded, and I think that crowding can sometimes feel like intimacy, but it also just feels like crowding.” He added, “We were there for 20 years, so I think it’s just nostalgia … in any objective way, this is a better space.” He described some of the advantages of the new location, explaining that more space also allows the bookstore to be accessible to people in wheelchairs and families with strollers. Sophie Kennedy, a cashier at Porter Square Books, echoed this, telling the Register Forum, “it feels like there’s room to breathe.”
Customer Kathy Harthan, who was visiting the new location for the first time, especially appreciated how the cafe and bookstore “bleed into one another” without being as crowded as the old location. There are shelves of books along the walls for customers to browse while they wait in line but the cafe itself is clearly separated from the bookstore, with a distinct area to line up and a much larger indoor seating area. The new cafe is Page & Leaf Cafe, not the much loved Cafe Zing from the old location. However, the community can rest assured knowing that the new cafe is run by owners of two other beloved local businesses, the founders of Diesel Cafe and the CEO of Forge Baking Company. If customers still miss Cafe Zing, they can visit the old location where it has now expanded.
In conversations about the new location, one idea came up frequently: nostalgia. Much of this nostalgia for CRLS students comes from having frequented the children’s section of the old Porter Square Books location, and a core memory for many is the giant brown teddy bear that sat at the back. When asked, Sandberg reassured Register Forum readers that the owners are looking for a replacement and hoping that the community will embrace it just as much as the old one. This seems to be the bookstore’s ultimate goal—to be embraced by the community just as much as they always have been, now one thousand feet away.
This article also appears in our January 2025 print edition.
