WEAVERVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Willbloom Books, a pop-up bookstore based in Weaverville, N.C., will open a brick-and-mortar shop later this fall. The bookstore will be located off Weaver Boulevard, less than half a mile from downtown Weaverville.
Willbloom, named for a character from Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel, “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” is owned and operated by Lindsay Johnson. Until now, the shop has taken up residence in a mint green bus, which Johnson toured around Western North Carolina as a pop-up shop for the better part of a year.
The bookseller’s ultimate goal, however, has always been to establish a permanent shop for the town she lives in.
“The bus was always the first stepping stone in this eventuality of opening up a brick-and-mortar. I did the best to make sure what I was wanting to create and wanting to bring to Weaverville was gonna be wanted, received, all of that good stuff,” Johnson said. “I’ve had so much excitement, so much feedback from the community about really wanting a physical bookstore for families to go into. People have loved the bus, but it’s… a unique model, and it’s not always the easiest thing to do. Driving around your place of work is interesting, to say the least.”
While organizing dozens of pop-ups and three separate book clubs over the last year, Johnson kept a lookout for retail space. Her patience paid off.
“Finally, something came available a couple of weeks ago, and I snatched it up as quickly as I could, because retail space goes so quickly and it’s so hard to come by,” Johnson said.
Willbloom to flower in Weaver Village
On Sept. 1, 2026, Johnson signed a lease at 58 Weaver Village Way, Weaverville, N.C. The new home of Willbloom will be in the Weaver Village shopping center, located just off of Weaver Boulevard.
Johnson is excited about the proximity of the space to downtown Weaverville and grateful for the ease of access the shopping center provides.
“It’s so close to downtown Weaverville. I mean, Yellow Mug [Coffee Lounge] is maybe one minute of a drive,” Johnson said. “This is great because parking is super easy. There’s so much of it, you don’t have the stress of parallel parking or necessarily the crowds of being town downtown. I think this spot, because it is kind of tucked away a little bit, it’s a little calmer back there. I think it’s gonna be a really great spot for a bookstore to be.”
The bookseller plans to decorate the shop like an inviting “cozy cottage,” complete with rich wood, flowers and earth greens. Johnson said that she wants the brick-and-mortar version of Willbloom to operate as a community hub, offering Weaverville residents a comfortable, multimedia space for in-person interaction and connection.
“We live so much of our life on our devices, and I really want people to know, like, hey, this is a place where we will have book clubs, and writing clubs, and open mics, if you want to share what you’ve been working on, and trivia and maybe movie screenings,” Johnson said. “ Yes, it’s a retail place of business, but it’s also gonna hopefully foster community for people and deepen ties with the people in town. That’s what I’m really the most excited about, people being able to come to the store for dozens of different reasons.”
While Johnson does not have an exact date in mind for her grand opening, she predicted Willbloom will open its doors in November 2026, sometime before Thanksgiving.
For more information about Willbloom Books, visit www.willbloombooks.com.
Related reporting:
