East Village Book Store Fills a Void

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

In an age when we’ve seen more losses than gains of independent book stores, along comes Hey Books, a 1,000-square-foot repository of new and used books on various subjects. The store opened last month in the East Village with an inventory of 7,000 titles – and a comfy chair.

“We think we will hit 10,000 books in the coming months,” said Matthew Hein, who co-owns the business with avid “book scout” Anika Omark.

“There was a time when downtown had a bookseller’s row. But that is now gone,” Hein noted. “Our goal is to serve those audiences that were left behind.”

Shoppers will find both fiction and non-fiction at Hey Books, which cover general categories ranging from astrophysics and musician biographies to self-improvement, quirky novels, kids books, and much more. Still to come is a selection of rare books curated by Omark.

“Everyone has been so welcoming since we opened,” Hein added while pointing out that the owners of the nearby comic store, Now or Never “brought us fancy pastries as a welcome gift.” And from the adjacent FeeLit record store, the owner gave Hey Books a $2 bill for good luck.