Taylor Books

Charleston, United States

4.8

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 304-342-1461
Website:
www.taylorbooks.com
Address:
226 Capitol St, Charleston, WV, 25301
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miCharleston Amtrak Station
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Bussiness info

Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Good for Working
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 10:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Charleston) 11:30 AM Friday, June 20, 2025

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Located on Capitol Street in beautiful downtown Charleston, WV, Taylor Books is an independent bookstore, coffee shop, café, and art gallery. Opened by Ann Saville in 1995, Taylor Books has become a landmark and must-​visit destination. We invite you to take advantage of our broad selection of books, wide variety of hard-​to-​find magazines and unique collection of cards and gifts. Come by the café to enjoy a scone or a cup of coffee and take advantage of our FREE WIFI.

Explore local contemporary art and handmade crafts in the Annex Gallery. Feed your creative side by taking a class in our Annex Studios. Whatever your pleasure, we invite you to make yourself at home, whether you’re in-​store or online.

History

Established in 1995.

Since our grand opening in 1995, Taylor Books has become a Charleston institution and a favorite landmark for locals and visitors a like. Featuring a café serving a vast variety of coffees, home baked muffins, scones, cookies, cakes and other goodies, wine, free WiFi, live music every weekend, author events, a fine art gallery featuring local, regional and national artists, board games, a full schedule of classes in our two art studios, rich architectural character, free book club membership, fast special order service, an abundant selection of unique cards and gifts, thousands of books from all genres, including an unsurpassed selection of regional works, and a friendly, attentive staff. Hope to see you soon!

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20 reviews of Taylor Books

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Sparks, NV
Great vibe. Coffee was good too. Only tried the drip so can’t speak to the espresso. As book shop coffee shops go this one is top notch.
Place rating: 5
Federal Way, WA
A hidden gem in Charleston WV. An old school, community book store, evoking an environment wrapped in exploration of unknown tails, fascinating adventures, and caffeinated dreams and alcohol fueled bravado. Reminds me of small independent bookstores on the west coast, or those you happened to stumble upon which demonstrate that print is not dead and that words still matter.
Enjoyed my time looking through the stakes (although not extensive) the wood floors and high bookshelves wrap you with a feeling of warmth and contentment. What they don’t have in the store they will order.
Granted — they can’t compete with Amazon, but continuing to support such a store goes beyond price. Anytime I travel, I seek such locations and patronize them with my hard earned dollars.
Sometimes it is not about how much money you save, but the price you pay to keep a keystone of community thriving.
Enjoy the bookstore! I did.
Place rating: 5
Smithers, WV
I love this place! I am a big fan of bookstores, creaky floors, amazing coffee, and warm atmosphere. I found myself browsing bookshelves while nuzzling a salted caramel mocha. Can’t wait to visit as many times as possible!
Place rating: 5
Charleston, WV
What any hometown bookstore should aspire to, among the crown jewels of downtown Charleston.
Place rating: 5
Charleston, WV
Indie bookstores are the best! And, Taylor Books is one of the best indie bookstores. They have wine and beer and coffee and other beverages, and you can hang out and drink them there. The art gallery showcases a variety of work that changes regularly. There are great gifts, magazines, greeting cards, gift wrap, tickets to Mountain Stage, totes, and many more items. Last, but certainly not least, there are books, books, books — new and used. And, if they don’t have it stock they can probably get it for you. Buy local!
Place rating: 5
Bolivar Peninsula, TX
Intriguing book store offering a diverse selection of new and used titles. It has an art gallery and coffee café rounding out its repertoire. The gallery has cool art pieces from local artists, some of which I seriously considered purchasing for my home. Ultimately, I didn’t because of the price tag and dilemma of transporting home to Florida. I happily sipped the daily coffee special, Santa’s Helper, while I browsed their offerings of literature, trinkets and gifts. The coffee had the flavors of Christmas as its name implied. Cozy atmosphere with eclectic décor of wood floors and brick walls. I could comfortably spend a lot of time in this place. Plan to return when I’m next in Charleston.
Place rating: 4
Bala Cynwyd, PA
Good coffee and a fun stopping-​off place in downtown Charleston.
Place rating: 5
Charleston, WV
I love the coffee here. It is a great place to relax and meet friends. I love the atmosphere.
Place rating: 5
Dunbar, WV
Wonderful place to sit down, read, catch up on some work and socialize. It’s a wonderfully eclectic environment. One of the things that makes Charleston special.
Place rating: 4
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, NY
Sweet book store! Art gallery and a coffee shop on the side. Art gallery has a selection of local crafts so it’s perfect for visitors. The café has a full selection of espresso drinks, tea, and smoothies and also local beers. Great place to hang out and to meet cool people. Selection is really well rounded for the size of the shop. The used book section in the back is largely cheap paperbacks but the selection of new books is clearly well thought out. In a cute downtown strip of stores and cafes.
Place rating: 5
Pittsburgh, PA
This is pretty much my favorite place to be in Charleston. Adorable, smells like books & great coffee. Go there.
Place rating: 5
Bensalem, PA
Adorable local bookstore with a great selection– even a kids section! The coffee/​tea bar is a great addition. The kids and I enjoyed a treat while reading our new books! Friendly staff made this place a great stop!
Place rating: 5
Fort Bragg, NC
This place is a coffee shop/​book store. They don’t have as many books as Barnes and Noble, but the atmosphere more than makes up for it. The coffee is amazing, and they also serve beer on tap. Not a bad deal! Plus the staff is friendly. If you’re ever in Charleston, WV, be sure to stop here.
Place rating: 5
Huntington, WV
They have it all. Live music on the weekends. Coffee, Italian sodas and pastries. Their assortment of book and magazines exceed what is sold at the big chain stores. More than once we have travelled to Charleston from Huntington to hang out at Taylor’s.
Place rating: 5
Vero Beach, FL
Did a book signing there in July and was thrilled with the space, the gallery and the staff. Excellent latte, and the baked goods were very fresh and tasty. Hidden gem in the middle of Charleston.
Place rating: 4
Rockville, MD
This is a great independent book shop. The store contains a smallish but well-​curated selection of literature and non-​fiction, and has an art gallery and coffee shop as part of its repertoire. The shop had fresh muffins and scones in addition to espresso options and while I stopped by to look for first edition and used books, I definitely found many great titles for reading in the little monument park that is found just North of the café itself.
If I need a coffee or a book next time I’m in Charleston, I’ll definitely be stopping back at Taylor Books. Hopefully the clerk will be a tad nicer, but it was also early on a Saturday so I understand a bit of grumpiness…
Place rating: 5
Indianapolis, IN
What a bookstore should be.
I stopped in while passing by to grab a coffee. The coffee is homemade and delicious. Great little espresso shots to delight the palette. Great selection of books, magazines, and cards. They carry some rare and unique magazines. The card selection was impressive and whimsical. There is also a small art gallery attached to the bookstore full of local art. America could use more stores like Taylor Books.
Place rating: 4
Cross Lanes, WV
A pretty good, locally owned and operated bookstore, with a nice little attached coffee shop, Taylor Books has managed to survive Amazon, Starbucks, and the general economic malaise that surrounds Southern West Virginia.
Bookstore-​wise it’s a nice place with a decent selection of new and backlist books. New stuff sometimes has some kind of minor discount but not always, i.e. Yes, you can get it cheaper from Amazon. That said, you buy here you’re supporting a local store that employs local people and that itself serves and supports the community. Even though I’m an Amazon Prime customer I get much of my reading material here. They host author meet and greets and carry local authors, too. So, good on them for that. Good selection of periodicals and artisinal greeting cards as well.
The coffee shop is okay. The drip coffees aren’t all that great but the espresso drinks are solid. The baked goods are always tasty too. And, on weekends, there’s usually some live music. Score. Also, I once stood in line behind Ben Affleck there, giving me a decent Brush With Greatness story. Ask me about it sometime.
Parking kinda sucks but hey, it’s downtown Charleston, what can you do?
Bottom line: worth a visit.
Place rating: 5
Providence, RI
This is a perfect little spot. I needed a good cup of coffee and some wifi when my car broke down here, and this place came to the rescue!
Place rating: 5
Tampa, FL
Any other big city I would give it 4 stars, but for Charleston, it is a must see.
I definitely enjoyed this place mainly for the café. On a Saturday at around 10 a.m. it was pretty packed. There were almost no tables left. It says on their website that they bake their own baked goods. I was hoping they would have the salmon and cheese advertised on their website, but I didn’t see it, so I ended up getting a pumpkin sultana muffin instead. I also got a salted caramel mocha.
I really enjoyed the muffin. If you like things really sweet, then this is not the baked good for you. Really the only thing that made it sweet was the granulated sugar on the top and the sultanas. It was pretty big and made a great breakfast. I really didn’t taste the salt (or the caramel for that matter) in the salted caramel mocha. It was ok, but I ended up not finishing it.
The bookstore part of the place had a good selection of books, but really I felt like the reason I came was for the café. The people sitting there seemed really interesting and I just like being surrounded by unique people.
The only parking around was street parking, so make sure you have quarters.