One of Downtown Jersey City’s most popular literary destinations will be heading north to a new storefront that better suits their evolving needs.
Word, situated at 123 Newark Avenue across from the Grove Street PATH station, will be moving to space inside Silverman’s Hamilton Square building during the coming months. The independently owned bookstore launched its operation in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood back in 2007 and expanded to Jersey City in 2013.
The company has witnessed significant change around its storefront that includes the creation and ongoing construction of the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza. The move, first reported by Shelf Awareness, will downsize Word’s footprint by about half to 1,200 square feet.
Word will be taking up residence at space currently occupied by Jersey City Bicycle Company, which will reportedly be relocating into Silverman’s new development at 170 Erie Street, according to an Instagram post from the company. A café component that had been a part of Word before the COVID-19 pandemic will not be included in the new outpost.
Word owner Christine Onorati says she plans to start whittling down the store’s inventory after the holiday shopping season in anticipation of the relocation. She hopes to be open for business in Hamilton Park by February next year.
