by Linda K. Sienkiewicz
When Elliot and Rachel May dreamed of owning businesses, they pictured it ten years out: he’d open a traditional sandwich shop, and she’d have her own bookstore. They didn’t imagine those dreams would come together under one roof in downtown Rochester, Michigan. But when the idea occurred to them, it came together fast.
Their story began in a Ruby Tuesday restaurant where they both worked. Elliot was in radio broadcasting and Rachel was majoring in journalism at Oakland University. That’s when Rachel fell in love with both Rochester and Elliot.
Shortly after they met, Elliot pivoted into a corporate role at Rocket Mortgage, but he never let go of his dream to run a sandwich shop. Ten years in, he decided to enroll in culinary school at Oakland Community College to learn the craft from the ground up.
Meanwhile, Rachel built a successful career in marketing. But as artificial intelligence began reshaping the industry, she considered shifting gears and perhaps revisiting her original love: books.
“For Novel: A Bookstore and Sandwich Shop, the impetus was food,” Rachel says. But she also knew from marketing that cafes inside bookstores tend to thrive because they create multiple revenue streams. That’s if they have a real chef in the kitchen. She had that in Elliot.
The couple began scouting locations in Rochester, which was Rachel’s college-town crush. With its mix of historic charm and contemporary flair, the downtown district boasts over 350 independent businesses from salons to boutiques to award-winning restaurants. When the perfect spot popped up on Main Street, they jumped at the chance. The competition was fierce, but their concept stood out. Rochester hadn’t had an independent bookstore in years. As a writer and reader who lives within walking distance of downtown, I was sadly aware of that fact.
Elliot and Rachel wrote a business plan and submitted their bid. Shortly after, the Mays were renovating a 1907 building that had once been a dentist’s office and later a feed store before a retail space. It had its share of quirks and challenges. “Designing the kitchen was the biggest hurdle,” Rachel says. The couple hired a kitchen designer and an architect. They tore up floors, updated wiring and plumbing, and brought the space up to code.
Meanwhile, Rachel dove headfirst into the world of bookselling. She reached out to other indie bookstore owners and discovered a warm, generous community eager to help. “Booksellers are the kindest people,” she says. They gave her advice on everything from data-driven curation to customer engagement.
I often walk my dog downtown. When I first saw the sign inside the window announcing Novel: a Bookstore and Sandwich Shop was coming, I snapped a photo and excitedly shared it with my literary community. Finally! An indie bookstore! In my town! They opened in November 2025 and, much to my surprise, my husband gave me a gift card from their store for Christmas.
Novel is a cheerful welcoming space where visitors can sip coffee, enjoy a warm sandwich, and browse through thoughtfully curated titles. The layout invites you to linger. You’ll find a huge couch and wide chairs clustered around a coffee table, small café tables in another area, and two plush armchairs at the front. Books line the brightly lit walls and spill into baskets on the floor, many displayed face-out to catch your eye. Children’s and YA books have their own wall. Stuffed animals peek out from the bottom bins of a rustic antique center table. During my visit, two of Elliot and Rachel’s three young children were happily mingling with customers. Elliot paused to read a book to their son, while their daughter enthusiastically “helped” ring up my purchase at the counter.
One stunning feature on the center table is the tall, handmade Tree of Knowledge, which Rachel and a friend crafted from the pages of Britannica encyclopedias. Its leaves flutter from arching branches and the trunk is wrapped in printed pages, making a tactile symbol of the stories and knowledge that fill the shop.
In the café, Elliot crafts one-of-a-kind grilled sandwiches, like the Mortadella Truffle, my personal favorite, layered on artisanal CRUST bread from a local bakery. The cheese in the sandwiches comes from another local shop, The Cheese Lady. The menu also features CRUST pies and bakery, soups, and coffee and cold drinks. This is elevated comfort food with Michigan-made heart.
What sets Novel apart from chain bookstores is the personal connection. “Talking to customers is my passion,” Rachel explains. She recently spoke with someone who claims they read only one book a year because they don’t know what to read anymore. Big box stores are overwhelming with massive displays that often lead to impulse buys and reading letdowns. At Novel, Rachel strives to curate her collection not just from bestseller lists and reviews, but from conversations. She learned from Rochester’s annual sidewalk sale that the community enjoys romance, historical fiction, YA thrillers, and true crime, not necessarily what’s on a list.
To help guide readers, she’s created a “If you like this → try this” shelf and encourages customer-written review cards that are displayed alongside featured books. “I hope to build trust with readers,” she says. Return customers mean everything, and Rachel is delighted to see that happening as Novel is becoming a community hub. Weekly story time for kids is led by local teachers. There are adult book clubs, puzzle nights and game nights. Their recent “Spicy Boozy Book Fair” and “Mystery Boozy Book Fair” events, hosted with Bitter Tom’s Tasting Room just a few doors down, were big hits.
Bookstore: A Bookstore and Sandwich Shop is more than the sum of its parts. It’s a love story of food, books, Rochester, community, and a couple who dared to build something original, meaningful, and warmly unforgettable.
Find them at 307 S. Main Street, Rochester, MI. 48307.
Website: Novel | Sandwiches and Book Store in Rochester, MI.
Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a poet and author whose work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Her debut novel, In the Context of Love, was a finalist for multiple awards including the Hoffer Award and Sarton Women’s Fiction Award. She has five poetry chapbooks and a children’s picture book. Her novel Love and Other Incurable Ailments is forthcoming from Regal House in Fall 2026. Linda volunteers at Neighborhood House, a local nonprofit in Michigan.
