When Andi Bailey was laid off from her tech job, she decided to revisit an old dream: owning a bookstore. Then a 1961 Studebaker Champ turned up on Facebook Marketplace, and an idea bubble popped over her head.
“If I didn’t do this now,” she told Newport Life Magazine, “I didn’t know when I’d have the opportunity to do it.” In less than a month, Bailey had shelving built into the truck bed, and her mobile bookstore, Flatbed Fiction, debuted at Grafik Coffee in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
The truck has since gone viral on TikTok and rolls up at coffee shops, farms, artisan markets and beachside sunset readings, stocked with romance (Bailey’s favorite), horror and thrillers. Bailey now works remotely five days a week and calls the side hustle bookstore her “touch-grass” escape.
Despite the success, she isn’t chasing growth targets. “It’s really about popping up where I can, meeting people,” she says.
When Andi Bailey was laid off from her tech job, she decided to revisit an old dream: owning a bookstore. Then a 1961 Studebaker Champ turned up on Facebook Marketplace, and an idea bubble popped over her head.
“If I didn’t do this now,” she told Newport Life Magazine, “I didn’t know when I’d have the opportunity to do it.” In less than a month, Bailey had shelving built into the truck bed, and her mobile bookstore, Flatbed Fiction, debuted at Grafik Coffee in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
The truck has since gone viral on TikTok and rolls up at coffee shops, farms, artisan markets and beachside sunset readings, stocked with romance (Bailey’s favorite), horror and thrillers. Bailey now works remotely five days a week and calls the side hustle bookstore her “touch-grass” escape.
Despite the success, she isn’t chasing growth targets. “It’s really about popping up where I can, meeting people,” she says.