By Ellie Brogan
Wayland Post Intern
Situated inside the Bagel Table in Wayland Center, just past the counter and around the corner, is the Wayland Arts pop-up bookstore, where customers can view New York Times best-sellers and purchase them at the counter. The books are all displayed cover-out, enabling customers to view the books easily.
The pop-up started in December of 2022 as a successful fundraiser for Wayland High School’s robotics team. But the inspiration was a little farther from home. “ I had been down in Atlanta and I had seen this great coffee shop and they had books on the side wall. And they weren’t stacked sideways, like a typical bookstore. They had them all facing outward,” says pop-up founder Becky Stanizzi. Her son, Matthew, was part of the robotics team until he graduated in 2024.
To create the collaboration, she reached out to Ed Eglitis, co-owner of the Bagel Table. Eglitis paid for the first round of books from Amazon, as well as the bookshelves. All profits were split between the Bagel Table and the robotics team, resulting in the bookstore not needing to pay rent. Eglitis could not be contacted for comment.
“ We came up with the idea and then picked the place,” says Stanizzi when asked about why the Bagel Table was chosen.
The pop-up continued as a fundraiser for the robotics team until the summer of 2024. After her son’s graduation, Stanizzi turned to Arts Wayland, and the profits are now split with the Bagel Table and Arts Wayland.
A prime gathering spot
“[The Bagel Table] is one of the only local gathering spots in Wayland, full of people that meet there of all ages and walks of life,” added Robyn Gray, Program Director for Arts Wayland.
The bookstore carries a wide array of books, all supplied by Stanizzi from Amazon, ranging from cookbooks to nonfiction memoirs to fantasy novels by notable names like Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.
On average, the bookstore sells at least one book a day, with some days seeing four to five sales.
“The pop-up will run for as long as the [Bagel Table] is in business in Town Center,” says Gray.
Arts Wayland also has another collaboration with the Bagel Table, Java Jams, “a monthly acoustic music series held at The Bagel Table every first Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., sponsored by Arts Wayland, led by Steph Elkort and Steve Robb,” according to Gray.
