WESTBROOK — Few things go together better than books and coffee, expect perhaps, books and beer.

Quill Books and Beverage will be selling all three at what will be Westbrook’s only bookstore. The combination bookstore/coffee shop/pub will be similar to Elements in Biddeford and Book and Bar in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the owners said.

“We’re excited,” co-owner Matthew Irving said. “This is something we’ve been working towards for a long time.”

Irving and co-owner Allison Krzanowski will be holding a fundraiser at Mast Landing Brewing Co. on Sunday, Aug. 20, to raise money for start-up costs. The used book sale will take place from noon-5 p.m. at the brewery, located at 920 Main St.

“It’ll be a pop-up shop of the bookstore we hope to have,” Krzanowski said.

The books and prices at the sale will be representative of what the store will offer. The store will sell like-new books, which Krzanowski and Irving have been buying from book sales over the past year, for $6-$10.

The owners said it’s important that their shop stocks books written by and about underrepresented voices and experiences. Their selection of almost 3,000 books will include titles by people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and Muslims.

“We really want a diverse selection of books,” Krzanowski said. “We want our entire community to feel represented.”

Krzanowski and Irving, who moved to Westbrook from Portland a year ago, will be opening Quill in downtown Westbrook in late fall. The announcement of its exact location is being kept quiet until a lease agreement is finalized.

Abigail Cioffi, the executive director of the Downtown Westbrook Coalition, said a bookstore is “vital retail space” in a community.

“I think it’s one those really important spaces and the fact that it’s a bookstore is huge,” she said. “Since I’ve started in this position, I’ve been hearing people say they want a bookstore.”

Quill Books and Beverage will be the city’s only current bookstore and the first one in recent time. Krzanowski said “bookstores are really important for a community” and Irving agreed.

“It gives communities an identity to have a bookstore,” he said.

The pair doesn’t have previous experience as booksellers, but Krzanowski works in the arts as a creator and seller of handwoven products. Irving has hospitality experience and has worked at various restaurants and bars.

Quill will serve coffee from Swift River Coffee Roasters, based in Raymond, and will have four taps serving local beer, including Mast Landing. The shop will also serve wine, as well as sandwiches, salads and “grab-and-go” breakfast options.

The plan is to seat 30 people and hire three or four employees. Quill still has to go before the Planning Board for approval.

As a coffee shop, Quill will join The Daily Grind, which will be expanding this fall from a coffee drive-thru stand to a sit-down shop at 820 Main St.

Cioffi said community gathering spaces like this are important for residents and for people visiting Westbrook. With Maine Medical Center scheduled to open its new office space at One Riverfront Plaza this fall, she said the two coffee shops will be ideal for those employees.

“That’s what we’re trying to get to – businesses that bring people downtown and keep people downtown,” Cioffi said.

Krzanowski and Irving said Quill being a community space is very important to them. The plan is to hold author readings, open mic nights, live music, community discussions, and book club meetings at the space.

“We want to provide a place for people to come together and have these conversations together,” Irving said. “We want passionate people to come together with other passionate people.”

Krzanowski said Quill will definitely be “more than a place to buy books.”

“We want there to be more things for young people to do,” she said. “Right now there are some options, but it can be hard to find somewhere to meet up with other people. We really want to have a place for the community to come together.”

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

Allison Krzanowski and Matthew Irving plan to open Quill Books and Beverage, a bookstore that sells coffee, beer and wine, in downtown Westbrook this fall.

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