Where Romance, Wine and Community Meet in Downtown Poulsbo
What began as a mother looking for a way to connect with her adult daughters has become one of downtown Poulsbo’s newest gathering places.
A couple of years ago, Jaci Bryant picked up a romance novel for the first time in years. It wasn’t because she had rediscovered the genre. She simply wanted something to share with her daughters.
“Between my husband and I, we have four daughters, 19 to 25 now, three of them avid romance readers,” Bryant said. “So I got back into romance reading two years ago, and I did it specifically to have connection and conversation with them, and it worked. We would have great dinner conversations on which book and which book boyfriend and all of the things. It was a great time, and then this kind of developed into the store.”
Those conversations eventually inspired Verse & Vine, an independent romance bookstore and wine bar that Bryant opened with her daughter and business partner, Carmen Garringer. The business debuted July 3 in a renovated 1906 building just off Front Street, creating a destination that blends books, wine and conversation into what the owners hope becomes a community gathering place.
“We really wanted to create a space for people to just be,” Bryant said. “There are people that come in on a regular basis, even not even being open for a month, and they can come in on their own and not feel uncomfortable, or what the pressures of sitting at a restaurant might look like if you’re by yourself.”
“Here, people walk in and they just immediately have a huge smile every time,” Garringer said. “It’s very fulfilling. It’s good energy.”
The idea crystallized during a December trip to a romance bookstore for an author signing.
“Being in that space, there was just such a sense of community with everyone that was there,” Garringer said. “While we were there, we’re like, we could probably do this, and also, why isn’t there any wine here?”
That simple question became the foundation of their business model. Within seven months, Bryant and Garringer had transformed an empty storefront into a business unlike anything else in Kitsap County.
Creating a Place to Stay
From the beginning, every detail was intentional.
“Even the smell in here was important to us, and the sounds that are going on, and the visual of what’s happening,” Bryant said. “I think there’s a fully immersive experience going on.”
Inside, deep green walls, brass accents, antique furnishings and jewel-toned seating create a cozy atmosphere that encourages visitors to settle in with a book or a glass of wine. A velvet sofa anchors one corner beneath the front windows while comfortable seating is scattered throughout the shop.
The signature green walls have become such a talking point that Garringer created bookmarks listing the paint color after customers repeatedly asked about it.
Much of the furniture came from Facebook Marketplace, where each piece carried its own history.
“Everything came with its own story, and I wish I had written most of them down,” Bryant said. “We would tell them we were putting it in a bookstore, and they were just so excited about where their heirloom was headed off to.”
One of the centerpiece furnishings is an ornate library table rescued from Portland. Behind the wine bar, a stained-glass window will eventually become a pass-through into an expansion currently under construction.
“We mixed the new with the old,” Bryant said.
The aesthetic’s appeal has also surprised them.
“We were very surprised at the demographic of romance readers typically being women, how many men are coming in,” Bryant said. “They’re using it as date night. They love the green. I don’t know if that becomes like a biological thing with them, but they are very, very excited about the green.”
Outside, a shaded patio has become one of the shop’s most popular features.
“The patio space has been a huge success,” Bryant said. “We’re cozy in here, and the plan always was to have the addition we’re building out back.”
That addition, known as the Conservatory, is expected to open this fall, adding roughly 700 square feet of bookstore space.
“We’ll have more green,” Bryant said. “We’ll have windows along the view wall, a 30-foot wine counter against those windows, beautiful seating, crystal chandeliers, and ferns and plants.”
Building a Sustainable Business
While the atmosphere may draw visitors in, Bryant said the bookstore-and-wine-bar concept was also designed to create a sustainable business.
“When having to run just a bookstore, we didn’t think we could make that pencil revenue-wise,” Bryant said. “So give people another reason to be here, and keep coming back on a regular basis, so that it’s not just a once-a-month trip you might make into your local bookstore. You could come in multiple times a week and spend time because you don’t have to buy a book every time you come in.”
Garringer curates the bookstore’s inventory, selecting both bestselling titles and personal favorites.
“Book-wise, a lot of it’s just stuff that we really loved, and thought, oh, we have to have this in here,” Garringer said. “Then just seeing what’s new and upcoming, and what people are really excited about, and doing lots of research.”
They opened with about 1,400 books.
Less than a month later, they had already sold through that inventory and reordered it twice.
“We’ve sold as much stock as we brought in, and then just had to bring it in twice over,” Bryant said.
The beverage program received the same careful planning.
“We really went with what we thought tasted good and what we thought was going to be a good price-to-drinkability point,” Bryant said. “We went with wines that came in kegs, so we’ve got eight wines on tap, keeping the waste down for us, the labor time down for us.”
About half the wines come from Washington and the remainder from California, though Bryant hopes to continue expanding relationships with Pacific Northwest wineries willing to offer kegged wines.
The menu also includes nonalcoholic spritzes and dirty sodas named after familiar romance tropes.
“You can get Enemies to Lovers and Meet Cute, and we just introduced our Shadow Daddy, which is a Spanish kalimotxo — Pinot Noir and Coca-Cola,” Bryant said. “People are finding that fun. They’re just excited about those little details.”
More Than Romance
Although romance is the bookstore’s focus, Bryant says many visitors arrive without realizing how broad the genre has become.
“We’ve had an occasion where someone is not aware that it’s a romance-focused bookstore,” Bryant said. “We’ve been able to do a little education on what romance books look like now, and how many different subgenres there are. I think that we’ve been able to convert some of them.”
“They had no idea that you could read about two serial killers falling in love,” Bryant said with a laugh.
The store has also become an unexpected gathering place for writers.
Through an online submission form, more than 50 local authors have already expressed interest in selling books or participating in events.
“We didn’t know there were that many even in the area,” Bryant said. “We are going to focus over the next several months, when we’ve got the conservatory done, on showcasing our local authors and giving them a space too.”
The response from the bookselling community has been equally encouraging.
“It’s just its own community that we had no idea how big it was, or how many local authors are around here either,” Garringer said. “So many local authors.”
A Place to Belong
For Bryant and Garringer, the most meaningful measure of success isn’t how many books or glasses of wine they sell. It’s watching strangers become regulars and customers feel comfortable walking through the door alone.
“We hope people remember how they felt in here,” Garringer said. “What we’re trying to give them is just a space to feel comfortable and be welcomed.”
That personal approach has become part of the business itself.
“We’re getting feedback where people are mentioning that they were talking to the owners and there was a personal connection and good conversation,” Bryant said. “I think we want to make sure that we continue to give them that, and to do that, Carmen and I will be here every day that it’s open.”
As construction continues on the Conservatory and plans take shape for author events and expanded programming, Bryant says the vision extends well beyond selling books.
“We want to be wildly successful,” Bryant said. “Introduce romance books to new readers, bring events to the community, and champion our local author community and give them a space to be too.”
In an era when independent bookstores have increasingly become gathering places as much as retail shops, Verse & Vine has found its niche by combining literature, hospitality and genuine conversation. For Bryant and Garringer, the goal isn’t simply to sell the next bestseller. It’s to create a place where people linger, connect and return—not because they need another book or another glass of wine, but because they’ve found a place where they belong.
Keep in touch with our news & offers
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to the newsletter.
Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later.
