Auntie’s Bookstore

Auntie's Bookstore has filled two stories of the Liberty Building, at Main Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Spokane, since 1994. Chris O'Harra and Shannon Ahern started the business in 1978 as the Book and Game Company in the Spokane Flour Mill, opened Auntie's on Riverside Avenue in 1985, then bought and renovated the former Kemp and Hebert Building and moved the store in. John Waite, who also owns Merlyn's Comics and Games, bought Auntie's in 2016.

New and used books share the same shelves here, sorted together by section, and a bargain shelf on the mezzanine holds clearance copies. Families head for the children's area near the back. The calendar stays full with book clubs, author readings and a three minute open mic on the first Friday of each month. Used books can be traded for store credit on Sunday through Thursday afternoons.