The Regulator Bookshop

What it is: With the rainy weather this week, we have been exploring some of our indoor options in town.  Yesterday we headed somewhere we had been wanting to go for a long time, The Regulator Bookshop.  This book store located on Ninth St. near Duke's East campus looks small from the outside, but once you head indoors you discover a fantastic kids' section in the back.  It was much larger than I had anticipated.  While they did have many interesting reads for adults, the kids' section was where we spent most of our time.  The had a large selection of board books, hardbacks, and paperbacks.  In addition we noticed Spanish books, and books for teens.  We saw the classics as well as unique books that we really hadn't seen elsewhere.  It's always nice to go to a bookstore where you can see something new.  They also had a sitting area next to the kids' area complete with two comfy couches and a coffee table.  The Regulator has been known to have Friday night story times/PJ parties which I've been interested in checking out, so we'll try to let you know when they schedule more.


What we liked: We liked the selection in the kids' area.  I was surprised to see such a great selection in such a small bookstore.  We also love supporting our local Durham businesses.  In addition, the sitting area made for a great place to sit and read our new finds.  Another great thing about The Regulator is its location on Ninth Street.  You could easily combine it with a meal at Blue Corn Cafe (with its great kids' area) or stop for a sweet treat after your book browsing at Francesca's or Ox and Rabbit.


What we would change: There are not many negatives to this stop.  I guess my only caution would be that when we were in the store, it was so open and all of the sections were so close to one another that we felt we had to try to be quiet as not to disturb the other patrons.  In addition, the same was true of the sitting area which seemed to be shared with the rest of the store.


Website and other important information:

Website: http://regulatorbookshop.com/

Address: 720 Ninth St, Durham, NC 27705

Phone: (919) 286-2700

Hours: Monday - Saturday 10 am - 9 pm, Sunday 12 pm - 6 pm

Photos: 

 1. Kids' books!

  2. More kids' books including the easily accessible board book section

3. A view from outside