Dorothy June Booksellers

Dorothy June Booksellers sits at 107 W Orange Ave in downtown Foley, a few steps off N McKenzie Street in the heart of the historic district. The shop opened in 2023 as an independent, general interest bookstore, and it has since become one of the few places in Baldwin County where a reader can browse new releases, order a coffee, and settle into a chair without leaving the same room. The name nods to the owners’ family history, and the store carries that personal, small town feeling through everything from its shelving choices to its handwritten staff picks.

The front of the store is arranged the way a well loved independent bookstore should be, with fiction and nonfiction organized for easy browsing rather than strict alphabetical rigidity. Baldwin County residents will find a strong selection of Southern fiction, book club picks, and titles by regional writers, alongside a well curated children’s and young adult section near the front windows. The staff regularly rotate featured tables around new releases, staff favorites, and seasonal themes, so the layout changes throughout the year.

A defining feature of Dorothy June Booksellers is Telegraph Espresso, the coffee bar built into the shop. Customers can order espresso drinks, tea, and light refreshments and carry them to the store’s reading nook, a green velvet couch tucked near the shelves that has become something of a neighborhood fixture. The combination of books and coffee under one roof gives the shop a slower pace than a typical retail stop, and it is common to see customers linger for an hour or more.

The bookstore also runs a membership book club called dottie j’s book club, which selects a new title each month and gives members a punch card toward rewards and discounts. Selections skew toward popular fiction and buzzy new releases, and the club has become a way for the store to build a steady community of repeat visitors rather than one time browsers. Beyond the monthly club, the shop periodically hosts midnight release parties timed to major book launches, drawing series fans who want their copy the moment it becomes available.

Dorothy June Booksellers is affiliated with IndieCommerce, the online platform run by the American Booksellers Association for independently owned bookstores, which allows the shop to sell books online while still operating as a genuinely local business rather than a franchise location. It also partners with Libro.fm to offer audiobooks, giving customers who prefer to listen a way to support the store even when they are not shopping in person. Special and pre-orders are handled directly through the shop, and staff will track down requested titles when they are not already on the shelf.

Community programming extends beyond the book club. The store has hosted virtual author chats, local author signings, and seasonal reading programs aimed at younger readers during the summer months. These events tend to happen in the same open floor space near the coffee bar, which doubles as an informal gathering spot when there is no scheduled program at all.

Dorothy June Booksellers is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday. The store sits within walking distance of several other downtown Foley shops and restaurants, making it an easy stop for anyone spending an afternoon exploring the W Orange Avenue and N McKenzie Street area. For visitors mapping out a day in Foley’s historic district, the bookstore’s coffee counter and reading nook offer a natural place to pause between other stops.

The shop’s merchandise extends past books to include mugs, tote bags, and other branded items sold alongside the espresso bar offerings, giving customers a reason to return even after they have worked through a stack of new titles. Between the curated shelves, the coffee bar, and the recurring book club, Dorothy June Booksellers functions as both a retail shop and a small community hub in downtown Foley.