Where exactly is your store located? How does it look like?
The Buchkantine is located in Berlin-Moabit in Mitte, directly next to the river Spree. The Buchkantine is a mixed concept between gastronomy and bookstore on 400sqm indoor space, while 150sqm belong to the bookstore. It has an open all-day concept: we are open from 10 to 10 o’clock, 7 days a week. Of course, the bookstore does not have the same opening hours because it has to adhere to the closing times of the retail market. However, the restaurant can stay open for a longer time and we have enjoyed great popularity for 15 years.
What is the basic concept of the store? What makes your store stand out?
Our unique selling point is that we have a combination of two different businesses. We have the bookstore on the one hand and the restaurant on the other. All of that is combined into an all-day concept which allows our customers, especially our neighbors and residents from around, to spend the whole day here or to have a place to get together, enjoy spending their free time or to have a quick bite to eat during their lunch break. These are the synergy effects that both businesses embrace very well. We have the bookstore customers, who love to drink a coffee on the side – you have certainly seen it a few times that bookstores now also tend to have coffee machines. We go beyond that: we have a complete gastronomy, we have a kitchen, we have events and weddings, we cover the entire programs that “normal” gastronomies do too.
Of course, we have a very strong connection here in the neighborhood. We have been here for 15 years, we have seen the children grow up, we have accompanied the families from children’s literature to their first schoolbooks and further to university-accompanying literature. Those people are an integral part of our business and of course, it makes an incredible difference to us whether customers or guests only stop by for a short while to eat something or to buy a book and maybe have a quick chat with one of our booksellers, or whether they use our business as a place of experience and encounter and spend some time of their lives here. It creates incredible customer loyalty, and it is so much fun! We have a lot of space where you can just sit down, relax, and start or finish your day. I think that is what distinguishes us from a bookstore which might have a coffee machine or sell some soft drinks. We are two completely equal partners in terms of the gastronomy and bookstore.
How did you become aware of Pickmotion? In your opinion, how does your shop fit to us?
Actually, we became aware of Pickmotion through other bookstores since we also love to spend our time in different shops in our free time and we have noticed the postcards for the first time. They immediately appealed to us. Why? Our all-day concept has a broad target group. It goes from the little kids having fun in our playing area, to teenagers, pupils, students and further to the older generation. As far as the younger generation is concerned, they love using Instagram and think that the format of the postcards and the association to Instagram is really cool. In addition to that comes the Polaroid format, which appeals to the association with the past, the way it used to be. Of course, that was the perfect mix for us! At first, we tried it with a small batch and then we increased the selection of products because they turned out to become a top seller and we really had a lot of demand, especially for the postcards!
The Buchkantine is not just a beautiful, but also super cozy place to stay and relax. In addition to tasty meals and delicious drinks, you will also find a wide selection of books and our lovely PICKMOTION cards. So be sure to stop by! You can find the Buchkantine here:
Buchkantine Buchhandlung & Bistro
Dortmunder Straße 1
10555 Berlin
https://www.buchkantine.de/
