Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

Jeri Kay Thomas and Jeanne Blazo have found great success in the few years their downtown Brighton book store has been open, and expanding has always been in the back of their minds. The two retired Brighton Area Schools teachers founded Two Dandelions Bookshop, at 428 W. Main Street, in 2019, and it quickly filled a void. At the time, the downtown - which at one time had three book stores - had none.

“We thought it would be great if the opportunity (to expand) presented itself," Thomas says. That opportunity recently surfaced, and the two best friends purchased the Concord Mortgage building next door.

Now, Thomas and Blazo are planning to remodel the adjacent building so they can expand and effectively double the size of their bookshop. Thomas says they are now working on a design, and the expansion will take place this coming spring.

Although the mortgage building space, at 1,400 square feet, is slightly more than they currently have, Thomas says they do not intend to double the amount of books they have in stock. However, she says the extra space will allow them to “better display” their books, with plans to increase their inventory by 50%.

Thomas says with the extra space they will bring in more non-fiction books, such as history, biographies, science and cookbooks. Book signings - with popular local and Michigan authors such as Michael and Colleen Monroe and Colleen Gleason (Cambridge) will continue and possibly increase with the expansion.

Thomas assures that the weekly book readings for children which take place on Saturdays will continue with the added space. Two Dandelions currently has four employees in addition to Blazo and Thomas, and she says they will likely add staff after the expansion is complete.