Webster’s Bookstore Cafe

Great espresso machine. Someone needs to train the employees how to use it. Two or three more items on the menu would be welcome.
The atmosphere is eclectic and comforting. Very friendly staff. I’ve enjoyed several afternoons here. Never found a single book I wanted (they’ve been well picked over).
WIFI TIP — There are no warnings on your 90 min./per purchase sessions. So TIME YOURSELF and back-​up your online writing on your own system. When time is up – it’s up, and passwords/​sessions don’t overlap.

So wonderful and cozy!
The tea is absolutely delicious, and I love buying books there. It always smells like books, which is my favorite.
I’m not too thrilled with the wifi, you have to buy something to get it and it’s under limited time, and not particularly fast. But I definitely don’t come here for the wifi.
Keep it going!

One of my favorite places in State College! The atmosphere is very relaxed and chill and everyone there is very friendly! The food is a little hit or miss, although I appreciate the large array of vegetarian options. The drinks are very good, and I love being able to browse their selection of used books and vinyl records. Overall this is a great place to hangout!

The service is great– the whole atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming. Great vegetarian and gluten free menu! I reccomend the tuna salad wrap
: -)

An awesome place to study/​read etc. Will definitely recommend if you are looking for a elite and quiet place.

what a cute used bookstore!
the place is laid out like a book hoarder’s den: shelves and shelves everywhere, even over door frames and behind in little nooks and crannies.
the selection is decent: there were sections for kids books, science, self help, art, photography, cooking, buddhism, … the biggest two sections by far are the scifi/​mystery and literature ones.
i came by looking for a used copy of victor hugo’s les misérables, which they didn’t have but they did have a decent french section (as well as a similarly sized german and spanish collection) including a few of hugo’s other works. i got a copy of l’étranger by camus as a consolation prize, but the search continues.
the desk in the middle catalogs a fair fraction of the books they have in store, so to avoid a manual search you could ask them to check their database first. but that defeats the whole purpose of the used-​bookstore-​search in my opinion!
need to mention: there is also a small selection of used vinyl and a very spacious café section for sitting, laptoping, and nibbling on café fare.

I am not a vegetarian by any means, and I tend to think a lot of the ones I’ve came across are cocky, but I love Webster’s — so that should tell you something about the place! The choices of food that include meat are limited, but their dishes are good regardless. I especially love their brunch (coconut cardamon pancakes and burrito!). The Encyclopedia bagel is delicious, as are their chai teas.
I like the atmosphere, the fact that books are everywhere around, that people can bring their doggies, and that they serve Sweet Indulgence (s?) pies.
I’m knocking one star because the ordering process is a little bit confusing for first-​timers, and I’m never sure whether I should tip the waiters or not (but I always do, of course!). –You have to order and pay at the counter, then sit, and they bring you your food. Strange!

After having moved to their new location I got a great opportunity to check out this place.
A kinda hipster feel.
Books are scattered throughout plus some smooth indie live music every now and then.
I really like that they have a huge variety of loose teas.
This is my go to coffee place of state college.

Great atmosphere, great selection if you’re looking to buy used books. Drink service was a bit slow compared to the chain stores, so it’s not ideal for grab-​and-​go.

Five stars! I don’t go into Webster’s often, but every time I’m in there, I always tell myself that I need to stop in more often. The books are priced fairly and the selection is pretty good. The only book I bought here was an astronomy book, though. This isn’t a big city, and the selection fits the size of the town, if that makes sense. There are some nice little nooks in the store to get some privacy.
The food is what brings me in! I love the food! There’s a huge selection of teas, like, over 50 flavors. The prices are fair and the menu items are generally vegan/​vegetarian. They pack a lot of flavor! The service is a bit slow, but here, it’s okay. I think anywhere else it would be a turn off. The staff is always friendly which makes up for it.
Try their salads. All of the dressings are out of this world.

I love love love this local bookstore café! The ambiance is wonderful and friendly. The service is great. This is my go to spot in between work shifts or when I wanna chill, read a book, and drink a latte. :-)

A very awesome hangout spot. The ambience is wonderful. Books are very fairly priced. Staff is polite, witty and charming. They sell wonderful tea trinkets and products that are high quality. It’s a great place to walk around with a friend, sit in a book aisle and read or talk.

My husband and I love going here with our dog! Websters is dog friendly and has a water bowl available for your furry friends. Everyone there is super nice and they make great chai tea!

Chill atmosphere with good music. I’ve spent a few afternoons here looking at old records (wish I hadn’t gotten rid of my record player so I could buy some) and books. If you want to come for books or records, don’t come with an exact book in mind, come looking for something new. Also, their coffee is pretty good – try the brown cow, it’s to die for.

I love websters. I began coming there for their small record shop and then continued for the food, tea, and atmosphere. The workers are extremely nice and always put a smile on my face. Unlike many other places in state college, I do not mind giving my business to websters.

Awesome tea selection and plenty of space to sit down and savor the time to drink it. Teas are all loose leaf and bagged in house.
The menu emphasizes local options (local goat milk and yogurt are sold in the side fridge near the barista bar). Hot soups, salads and sandwiches are typical café fare. Gluten free breads and options available. The hummus salad is top notch. Prices are average for a café (hot tea ~$ 2.30). Hot drinks are served in beautiful handmade pottery mugs.
Atmosphere is chill, work-​friendly, quiet with good-​level of background music/​noise. Music selection is grand.
Baristas are friendly and customer service is wonderful. Perhaps not as speedy as a chain but that is reassurance that the food is homemade and not microwaved.
Tuesday nights are Tango nights. There are also poetry readings on select nights and other interesting entertainment events.
The bookstore is worth visiting for people not hungry for café items. Affordable prices and a wide selection of used books. A place where one could easily get lost reading for hours.

Webster’s…is not a place to go to if you’re in a hurry, or if you have high expectations for customer service. They surely take their time making your drinks and sandwiches — both of which are above average in taste and quality.
A healthy collection if vinyls plays over the sound system, creating a nicer ambiance than one would expect in this basement used bookstore/​coffee place.
Also taking you back in time is their dated system for using the wifi — some unique password printed on scraps of paper that is only valid for 30 minutes (about the time it will take for them to make your drink and sandwich).
An upgrade from their old location, they are no longer taking donations to help pay the electric bill.
Despite the fact that nothing they do makes sense, Webster’s is a place I love visiting. And I’ll be happy to sign their petition (again) next time they go out if business.
Hint: the service improves the more homeless you look.

I rarely have an opportunity to get over here, but I’m thrilled whenever I do.
This State College institution is as comfy and friendly as ever. I have a favorite– brown cow, iced in summer, hot the rest of the year. It’s a latte made with Meyer Dairy chocolate milk. Creamy and delicious. We were there long enough to need a snack today, so we snagged a veggie wrap with cilantro lime dressing. Hit the spot perfectly. It was served with a fresh side salad with a dressing that’s still tickling my brain. It had an amazing citrusy tang that neither of us could identify– I thought maybe coriander, hubby says no. Staff didn’t know.
Besides offering great food and drinks and a cozy space, Websters does a lot for the community. They host various musical performances and dance lessons. They try to contribute and they source locally as much as they can.
One thing I really love about Websters is that the temperature is comfortable. Weird, I know. But I really can’t stand air conditioning in commercial buildings– most of the time they have it turned up so high you need a hoodie just to sit inside. But I was at Websters in shorts and a tee shirt, and sat comfortably typing away for a couple of hours.
Wireless is free for 90 minutes with a purchase. If you need it longer, you must buy something else. This might annoy me with some places, but it’s a small business, and they gotta pay the bills just like everyone else, right?

Long-​time local haunt, and one of the most progressive places in town. It’s a safe haven filled with great people, shelves upon shelves of used books, local and organic healthy AMAZING vegan/​veggie food, and extensive tea/​coffee selection. The staff are friendly, happy, and knowledgeable. Websters also features work of local artists, and it’s a great place to find out about local events. It’s a community space. So it was a major loss when the old location closed and we had no Webster’s for almost 2 years. I even had to leave town for awhile. And it was super exciting when the new one opened!
Back in their old location, I would’ve given them five+ stars. I’m giving them four stars now. I hate to sound all «it just isn’t what it used to be»…but, it kind of isn’t. It wasn’t their fault they had to move, and the new location IS bigger (and in some ways better – thank GOD you no longer have to walk by the Abercrombie & Fitch just to get there.) But they’ve changed, and not just space-​wise. The place just has a different «feel.»
How so? 1) There’s not as much seating as before (or if there is, it’s arranged differently now, with fewer nooks and crannies where you can bury yourself in coffee, food, and books.) That’s OK I guess, but it just doesn’t feel as inviting anymore.
2) They now have a wi-​fi password that’s only good for 90 minutes, and when it runs out it tells you to make a purchase. (Not ideal when you’re in the middle of sending an email when it cut out, no warning…) In the old store there was no time limit, whereas now it kinda feels like they just want to keep moving people along. Also makes for a less inviting feel.
3) Last time I was there they called me «ma’am,» and I secretly cried into my chai latte feeling old at 29. (And, well, maybe I am if I’m lamenting the «it’s not what it used to be!») No, but seriously, I’ve always understood «ma’am» as an offensive way of addressing a woman of any age (unless you live in the South.) When I worked at Starbucks, «ma’am» was like a dirty word we only used when the customers were being rude. I wasn’t being rude at all– and I don’t think the girl was either; she just didn’t know. At 29 or 92, women should be addressed as «Miss» or «Ms.» Anyway, I don’t feel like the culture of calling women «ma’am» existed in the old Webster’s, but apparently it’s here now. This also makes for a less inviting «feel.»
These, of course, are minor compared to the greater amazingness of Webster’s. They affect my experience and I don’t come to the new one as often as I went to the old one. But I love this place and as long as I live in SC I will always be a regular.

The books/​music:
Smaller used book selection that I’d like, but some decent surprises that I’ve purchased in both books and vinyl. Webster’s is not really any cheaper than E-​bay or Amazon, but if you enjoy browsing books in person rather than shopping online, it has that «hip to be square» used bookstore in a basement feel that you may be craving. Hardbound books seem disproportionally overpriced as compared to other merchandise and I usually only buy paperbacks or records as a result, and only occasionally at that.
The food/​drinks:
I had the lunch wrap special: curried egg salad and the soup special: Indian vegetable. I was naturally worried about all the things that could go wrong with a curried egg salad but I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. The soup was delightful, vegetarian and very complexly flavored, try it if it’s on special. My friend had a cup of vegetarian chili, and she liked it but it was a bit on the spicy side for those of you sensitive to such things. I had a dark house coffee which was good and a glass of the complimentary water (nice touch). I found the food a tad pricey for basement bookstore café food, but it was very fresh and better tasting than I expected.
Overall, Webster’s is probably worth a gander if you have an hour to kill with friends and you want to grab a paperback and a snack. My friend had one of the desserts while we met and she really liked it, so maybe a hot beverage and a sweet snack is more your style, though lunch worked for me.