A couple of weeks ago, Book Table owners Jason Smith and Rachel Weaver got an unidentified call from the Chicago Reader (Caller ID tipped them off), asking basic background questions about the bookstore at 1045 Lake.
They knew the Reader’s annual Best of Chicago readers’ poll was coming out soon, so they thought maybe they might have been named best suburban bookstore or something else highly localized and qualified.
“Usually these awards end up going to stores located within 10 blocks of Lake Michigan and it’s nice to have a little attention paid to the western suburbs,” Smith said.
When the online survey results were announced, however, they got even more excited. The Book Table was named best bookstore in the entire Chicago area, beating out runners-up Myopic Books of Wicker Park and Unabridged Bookstore in Boystown.
Book Table, which turns 7 next month, expanded two years ago and Smith says business has “jumped exponentially.”
First and foremost, he said, “We are an Oak Park bookstore, but we have a nice draw from our neighboring communities, and we also draw decently from Chicago. We have enough selection now to be worth the drive.”
To have a suburban bookstore recognized in a Chicago-centric publication like the Reader is, Smith said, “fantastic. It’s heartening that we have that many customers who are that loyal and took the time to respond to the survey.”
Book Table wasn’t the only local organization recognized. In the Best Off-Loop Theater Company category, Oak Park’s Festival Theatre (currently presenting Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men outdoors at Austin Gardens) was runner-up to Chicago’s Dream Theatre.
Though Smith says the distinction hasn’t gone to their heads, he kidded that they’re thinking of requiring customers to wear suits and ties from now on.
“We’ve moved up a level,” he said.
If you want to send along your congrats, you can do so at www.twitter.com/TheBookTableOP or www.facebook.com/TheBookTable.
