On Tuesday, Oct. 27, a Waunakee bookstore threw a release party at someone else's bar. Soulbound Books held its brunch for A Court of Splintered Harmony, the sixth ACOTAR book, at Red & White Winebar on East Main Street from 9 to 11 a.m. The event listing gave the reason plainly: "Since our store is still under construction ahead of our November opening, our friends at Red & White Bar are hosting us for the morning."
Borrowing a room has been the store's operating model all year. Sisters Katie Rittenhouse and Elizabeth Arpin founded Soulbound in 2026 as a bookstore focused on science fiction and fantasy. Since then they have sold books from tables inside other people's businesses, in Waunakee and a few towns nearby. When the doors open at 112 West Main Street, the store will already be part of a network of Main Street shops, bars and civic events that took it in before it had an address to hand out.
Eight Saturdays at Water Wheel Drive, and a Route Around the Area
According to the store's own past events page, here is what a bookstore without a building did between June and October:
- June 27 through Oct. 24: Soulbound set up at the Waunakee Farmers Market on Water Wheel Drive for eight Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. The dates were June 27, July 4, July 25, Sept. 12, Sept. 26, Oct. 3, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24.
- July 14: Books & Blooms at Leaf & Bloom, 114 E. Main St., Suite 103, from 3 to 6 p.m., with sprayed-edge special editions and complimentary drinks while supplies lasted.
- July 18 and 19: A Grown Up Book Fair in downtown Fort Atkinson, with author signings, a book swap, flash tattoos from Oracle Tattoos and bookish crafts at Chroma's art studio.
- July 28: Books & Brews at Young Blood Brewery's taproom, 4181 Savannah Dr. in DeForest, from 3 to 8 p.m.
- Late August: The Waunakee Chamber of Commerce's Summer Send Off, the shopping stroll formerly called Mocktail Mingle, listed at Leaf & Bloom.
- Sept. 15: Books at the Bar at the Athens Grill in Westport, from 3 to 8 p.m.
- Sept. 24: A book bedazzling night at the Waunakee library, where Soulbound sold "recent favorites, popular picks, and special edition titles" to people who came to glue rhinestones onto covers.
- Oct. 27: The ACOTAR release brunch at Red & White Winebar.
That works out to eight market Saturdays plus at least seven partner events, held in a flower shop, a brewery, two bars, a public library and another town's downtown, and none of them in the store's own space.
Every Host Got Something Out of It
Each event was billed so both businesses got something out of it.
At Young Blood, the pitch was to grab a pint, browse, and "support two local businesses." At the Athens Grill, the bar staff came up with cocktails themed to the books, and Soulbound sent readers to its Instagram to find out what to order. Leaf & Bloom poured drinks while customers browsed books among its flowers. The brunch announcement closed by pointing first-time visitors to Red & White's own monthly book club.
That book club is worth knowing about whether or not you ever attend a Soulbound event. Red & White Book Club meets the second Monday of each month at the wine bar, 331 East Main Street. Social time starts at 6 p.m. and discussion at 7, with no RSVP needed. The next meeting falls on Monday, Nov. 9.
The pop-ups also show who the store is stocking for. The Athens Grill table promised "the week's new releases, plus the heavy hitters," naming Dungeon Crawler Carl, ACOTAR and Mistborn. That's a list for series readers, and Soulbound has spent the season finding out which of them live near Main Street.
The Building at 112 W. Main
The address will be familiar to anyone who shopped downtown before this spring. Fred's Village Market shut its doors at 112 W. Main St. on March 17, and the Waunakee Tribune reported that the sisters planned a "whimsical space" for science fiction and fantasy in the same building.
The building needed work first. On Monday, July 13, the Waunakee Plan Commission approved changes to the exterior: an accessibility ramp, fresh paint on the façade, new signage, an awning and new windows, as the Tribune covered. At the time, the target opening was August. By September the library event described Soulbound as "coming to Main Street this fall," and the current event copy says November. No exact opening day has been posted yet, and the store's homepage still carries an older "later this summer" line. For the actual date, keep an eye on its upcoming events page.
The pop-up season also traced a second piece of Main Street. Leaf & Bloom, Soulbound's host in July, is in Suite 103 of 114 E. Main St. On Oct. 1, 2026, the Chamber held a ribbon cutting for the Tasting Room, a lounge in Suite 109 of the same building. East Main got a new tenant this month, and West Main gets its new tenant next month.
November Is Already Booked
Most new stores open their doors and then go looking for a place on the local calendar. Soulbound is already listed as a stop on the biggest downtown shopping night of November, before an opening date has even been announced.
| Date | Event | Where | Soulbound's role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Waunakee Farmers and Makers Market | Waterwheel at Simon Crestway | Its last scheduled market was Oct. 24 |
| Mon., Nov. 9 | Red & White Book Club | Red & White Winebar, 331 E. Main St. | Red & White hosted its Oct. 27 brunch |
| November, date TBA | Soulbound Books opens | 112 W. Main St. | The opening itself |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | 14th Annual WPW Wine Walk: Denim & Diamonds | 18 stops downtown | Listed stop |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Friends of Waunakee Public Library holiday craft fair, bake sale, book sale and container raffles | Heritage Elementary and Waunakee Intermediate | Not listed |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Light the Night Parade | Main Street, O'Malley Street to Village Park | Not listed |
A few notes on those dates. The Chamber calendar shows two different time windows for Saturday's market, 8 a.m. to noon and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so if you get there by 9 you're covered either way. The library sale on the Village calendar runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. across both school buildings. Waunakee readers can visit Soulbound's new shelves and the library sale's used-book tables on back-to-back days that weekend. Light the Night runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Wine Walk is the date to plan around. Waunakee Professional Women, a 501(c)(3) run by women who own businesses, work or live in the Waunakee School District, organizes it and puts ticket profits toward community causes and scholarships for young women. The Wine Walk page lists tickets at $40. The Eventbrite checkout on that page comes to $44.52 after a $4.52 fee. Cup and wristband pickup starts at 4 p.m. at Hallman Lindsay, 204a S. Century Ave. Bring a printed ticket and photo ID, since the walk is 21 and over. Drinks have to be finished inside each shop because alcohol isn't allowed on the street. The walk runs from 5 to 8 p.m., followed by a diamond necklace drawing at 9 p.m. at The Lone Girl.
The other 17 stops are a map of downtown retail. They include Waunakee Furniture ETC, Evie & Co Boutique, Hallman Lindsay Paints, Leaf & Bloom, Pageberry Mercantile, Red Barn Company, Sweet Pea Floral, West & Dunn, Simply Unique Decor, Game Haven Store, Junky Janko, Wisconsin Candle Company and The Club. For fantasy readers, Soulbound and Game Haven Store will both be on the same night's route. For Leaf & Bloom, it will be the second time this year the two businesses have shared an evening.
If the build-out stays on schedule, the Wine Walk on Nov. 20 will be one of the first nights Soulbound Books welcomes customers to its own address, 112 W. Main St.
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