SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Libelula Books is the kind of place where you can lose time.
There is something to see pretty much everywhere you look. The walls are floor-to-ceiling books, but there are also records and collectibles of all kinds.
Owners Jesi Gutierrez and Celi Hernandez are the married owners of the store and say it was the product of circumstances and dreams.
“When Jesi lost their job because of the pandemic like millions of other people we took a gamble on ourselves and said let's do it let's dive in.”
That was eight months ago. In that time, the store has steadily been growing, partnering with non-profits to increase literacy, and donating books whenever they can.
“We've had poetry readings we've had punk rock shows we've had readings and workshops, we've had kids just hang out and eat burritos and read on the floor.”
Now they are a carefully curated store that prides itself on having a robust selection of Latinx, queer, art, and local authors.
“For folks of all abilities of all races and all backgrounds we also want to continue to expand our collection to include books in Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, etc, basically anything that's representative of the community.”
They say a place like this wasn’t around when they were growing up in Southern California. Being able to provide that to young people now is huge.
“I’ve already had a youth or two come out to me here in the space and that's overwhelming for somebody to feel that safe to be able to feel themselves and they can be themselves there's nothing like it.”
Libelula books is located at 26th Street and National Avenue and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here for more information
