Katonah’s first library, The Reading Room, operated out of this building from the mid-1800s to the turn of the 20th century. This building was moved to make way for the New York City reservoir system, rolled on huge logs to its current location along with many of the buildings of the original Katonah. The library was moved with the books on the shelves, and we love being able to populate those shelves once again with good reads, cookbooks, newspapers, and magazines.

The building later housed a beloved gourmet store, William Nicholas & Company for over two decades.  Its pedigree made it the obvious choice for the Katonah Reading Room, a café which celebrated the marriage of both good food and great books. The Katonah Reading Room Cafe thrived until it was closed in March of 2020 by the threat of covid and loss of business.

In February 2021 we reopened, marrying our bookstore, Little Joe’s, from around the corner, and our best concepts and menu items from the Reading Room cafe. Together we feel the bookstore and coffee shop elements create a special place…one of warmth and knowledge, fun and food.