Lake City Books joined Madison’s literary scene when it officially opened its doors in April 2023. The shop is owned by Molly Fish, a local who brings years of bookstore experience from both Chicago and Madison.
Guests are greeted by bright blue-and-white décor and a cheerful “Welcome in!” at the door. Offering everything from classic literature to the latest releases, Lake City Books, located on North Hamilton Street just off Capitol Square, offers readers across Dane County a cozy space to browse, discover new titles and connect over a shared love of reading.
As a lifelong book lover, Fish is passionate about fostering community through literature.
What do you think is the biggest challenge our community faces?
Housing. That’s the obvious answer, but it’s because we’re on this little isthmus, which has always made Madison so unique, but then as we grow more popular and as more people are moving in here, there’s no more land to sprawl to. The pricing is so bad that even people who could have afforded to buy a single family home 10 years ago can’t now, because you are priced out of everything. It's a totally different generational problem that we’re all going to have.
What do you wish people in our community understood better?
I think there’s an interesting dichotomy as we grow—that resistance to growth. I know a lot of people who have lived here a long time and are hesitant. They complain about all the growth, and as a small business owner downtown, growth is important to me and my business. People, tourism and parents weekend are good things for downtown Madison. I think there is this push and pull between what’s good for small businesses, culture, new voices and new people, and then the people who want everything to stay the same and want Madison to be their little secret. I hope that we can come around to embracing growth and make it more sustainable.
What is one change you would make if you could that would make life better for people in our community?
I feel like it's beating a dead horse, but affordable housing. Improving shelter access downtown [to make it] easier for unhoused folks rather than having our shelters out of the far fringes of the city. Other than housing, I would say the chains coming into downtown. In the ’90s in downtown Madison, it was all tiny shops, there was no Target on State Street. I went to college here at UW in the early 2000s, and there were local ethnic restaurants. I was trying new kinds of foods and supporting family businesses. Along with pricing people out of affordable housing, it’s also pricing out small businesses.
What in our community gives you hope?
Honestly, students and young people. Our protests have been so peaceful, and there is so much engagement. We see folks from East High School, which is my alma mater, doing walkouts and coming up to the square. People are informed, they’re engaged. I have a lot of hope in the fact that we stay a liberal, accepting place. I think there is still a really vocal and informed youth that is pushing back on the worst of the politics. The university and the state government have always had relationships that can be close together, depending on administrations, and they can get further apart and more at odds. But I think the students are the ones that keep everyone honest.
This story is edited for brevity and clarity.
