On The DL

Molly's Café & Bookstore Grand Re-Opening Party

by Monica Weymouth

Fri., Sept. 14, free (donations accepted), Molly's Café & Bookstore, 1010 S. Ninth St., 215-923-3367, www.mollysbooks.com

Molly's Café & Bookstore has had it rough over the past couple of years. As Web sites such as Amazon have become the go-to used bookstores, the independent South Philly nook has struggled to bring in business. But instead of packing up after seven years, owner and poet Molly Russakoff has decided to re-imagine her business.

"I started looking at it as raw space instead of, 'How do I make money selling books?'" says Russakoff, who owns the building and lives upstairs. In addition to selling books both new and used, the reinvented Molly's will also function as a community space. Russakoff has remodeled the 900-square-foot store to include a meeting room and a film screening space to accommodate monthly education forums, readings and discussion groups. Central to the new mission is a support and networking group for home-schooled children and their families. Russakoff, a mother of two, decided to homeschool her own children after experiences with both public and private schools. "I think a lot can happen in a small space," she says confidently.

In celebration of this new space, Molly's will host a screening of Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre and dedicate a new mosaic facade by local artist Isaiah Zagar. Tapdancers, DJs and a collection of surprise guests and friends will provide entertainment. "It's a little amorphous," says Russakoff of the night, "but I'm trying to give it room and let it grow."