Last updated on Dec. 1, 2025 at 01:20 p.m.
There are several local businesses in downtown Champaign. But one that stands out is The Literary, an indie bookstore and restaurant where people can bond. In October 2021, it opened its doors to the Champaign-Urbana community for the first time.
It was founded by Jenny Shima, who wanted to spotlight her lifelong love of books and create a place where people could connect. In a 2023 interview with WCIA, Shima said she tried to create a place that had “all of the best parts of life” in one place.
Shima came up with the idea for The Literary during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when people became isolated. She decided to move to Champaign permanently at that time, after moving around for years, and eventually decided to open shop.
The Literary sells a wide variety of books, including children’s, fiction, nonfiction, romance and horror. But the location isn’t just well known for its book selection; it also has a restaurant with literature-themed drinks and bites.
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Since its opening, The Literary has had considerable recognition. This includes students at the University. The Daily Illini ranked the location as the Best Off-Campus Study Spot in 2024 and Best Small Business in 2025.
Eleanor Klein, sophomore in LAS, goes to The Literary three to four times a year, including recently to discuss an honors project with her professor. Besides liking how it offers students who live off-campus an accessible place to study, she also mentions how it’s a space where people aren’t obligated to buy anything to have a good time.
“The nice thing about it is that compared to other coffee shops, you don’t have to go there and drink coffee or buy anything,” Klein said.“It’s a place where, especially with a lot of people going through financial issues recently, that people can go without being obligated to spend money to be there.”
Lara Copass, sophomore in LAS, saw The Literary’s mission come to life when she went there for “Gilmore Girls Weekend” in October. She said she felt it was a great place to find a good community of people.
“That’s the main reason why I go to The Literary,” Copass said.“It’s amazing, especially with Gilmore Girls night. Everyone was talking to one another, and we were all laughing and having a good time. You really just feel a sense of community, which I always feel when I go to The Literary.”
Kallan Buss, general manager of The Literary, has held her position for just under three years. Her main responsibilities include working on the finances, overseeing the five managers and working regularly with Shima to create new programs that make everyone’s jobs easier.
Buss was hired during the pandemic and was originally a bookseller before being promoted. Before she got hired, she worked in food service management in Michelin-rated and fine dining restaurants in Chicago for years. She recalled it as a cut-throat environment compared to working at The Literary.
“The difference here is we lead with compassion and empathy, and that’s a completely different management style than I’m used to, but I’ve learned more about it,” Buss said.“It’s been so rewarding to empower more of my femininity through my management style, so being able to help somebody grow through mistakes, achieve their goals and not put them down has been such an enlightening experience.”
One of the ways The Literary spreads its mission of being a place where people can make connections is by regularly hosting events. Some of its upcoming events include a trivia night, a book club discussing the book “Alchemised” and congressional candidate Dylan Blaha visiting The Literary on Friday.
Some of its past ideas for events have come from Buss herself, like “Bedazzle a Book” and tea parties. Shima also came up with a few ideas for events recently, such as the “Gilmore Girls Weekend” event in October and a friendship bracelet event in April.
According to Buss, it’s not hard to come up with ideas for events due to the team that coordinates them and the customers themselves who regularly come up with ideas that The Literary should host.
“We really don’t run out of ideas,” Buss said.“We just keep going, and it’s such a blessing that we have such awesome creatives in the community. We even have regulars that come in that are like, ‘You should do this idea!’ and we’re like, ‘That’s a great idea! We should do that.’”
Despite the positive effects of working at The Literary, Buss said one of the challenges is that customers sometimes forget that they also have a restaurant by bringing in their own food.
“It gets a little challenging because we’re doing everything we can to stay alive and support the community,” Buss said.“We still need to be a restaurant to operate and pay our overheads. But overall, people really seem to enjoy it, and they love the atmosphere of being able to eat amongst the books.”
Buss said that she’s grateful for the support The Literary has received from the C-U community over the years and hopes it can continue to serve the community in the years to come.
“It’s been so amazing to see the community show up and support us, even though we started in the middle of the pandemic,” Buss said.“To be supported throughout all of that has been huge and such an honor to be along the ride with the community.”
