DRAKE TheBookshop

DRAKE The Bookshop opened on Stockton High Street on 22 September 2015, after Richard Drake left a teaching career to open a shop with his wife Mel, inspired by a visit to a bookshop and café in the Lake District. The business began in a twelve-square-metre unit before moving to its current premises at 26-27 Silver Street in October 2016. Drake, Mel and their daughter Han run the shop with Margot, known to customers as the Bookshop Beagle. The shop offers next-day ordering, signed copies, pre-order events and a hand-picked subscription service, and hosts seven regular book clubs covering categories from young adult fiction to romantasy. In 2021 the family opened a second, dedicated children's shop nearby, DRAKE The Bookshop Too. The main shop trades Monday to Saturday, staying open until 7pm on Tuesdays for its Quiet Club session.