Manassas’ historic Old Town is a hotspot for small businesses to thrive and get their feet off the ground, and the newest addition is Sleepy Dragon Books! This is a newly opened, charming women-owned bookstore located at 9101 Center Street, next to their parent store Honey + Ivy Gluten Free.

“As for events, we were very excited to announce that our Ribbon Cutting ceremony was last Friday, April 24, at 2:30 p.m.!” Sleepy Dragon Books’ manager, Chloe Southerland, told me in an email. “Our Grand Opening was Saturday, April 25 to 9-7, and we had lots of fun things going on throughout the day.”

Prior to their official opening, Sleepy Dragon Books had been offering sneak peeks on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Inside the walls are lined with various books from fantasy, sci-fi, non-fiction, to activity books, to decorative socks and trinkets. They have jars of bright pens, patterned pencils, unique bookmarks, and tiny notebooks with clever sayings on them. They also have excellent music choices. When I went, they were playing video game-themed Stardew Valley softly to accompany you as you peek around their collection. They also have the cutest light turquoise baskets by the door for you to use while you shop.

Sleepy Dragon Books was started by Emily Hamby, the owner of Honey & Ivy. Honey & Ivy is a gluten-free bakery and cafe that started out as a farmer’s market stand, which has since expanded into a brick-and-mortar storefront.  “Since Honey & Ivy has been open for the past four years, I have heard dozens of customers in Old Town ask: Where’s our bookstore in Manassas? So, I decided to do it myself,” said Emily Hamby.

This bookstore, as implied by the mystical name, is a fantasy-focused indie bookstore with an expanding inventory that will continue to do so in the future. As with fantasy, they have a whole dedicated Sci-Fi section, a romance section, and plenty of the classics. I was super excited to walk in and find that the first shelf on the left had George Orwell’s most popular books, 1984  and Animal Farm. Notably, they also had The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

There’s plenty more to come, and customers can help with that! “We’re looking forward to getting an ordering system set up so that our customers can order any book that they’re interested in,” said Southerland via email.

The bookstore wishes to provide a welcoming and relaxing environment in the heart of Old Town Manassas. “In creating that kind of space, we think that it is extremely important to provide a selection of books that represent a diverse range of identities, backgrounds, and cultures,” Southerland explained. Sleepy Dragon Books has a lovely children’s book section, with popular series like The Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. I noticed that in the children’s section, there is a book called Don’t Touch My Hair! by Sharee Miller, which further reflects the fact that Sleepy Dragon aims to be inclusive to all cultures and share this sentiment at an all-age-appropriate level. Sleepy Dragon Books will be a place for readers of all ages to hang out with fellow book lovers, as noted by visit PWC.

As the bookstore is owned by women, there is a significant amount of dedication to this. There are multiple books about women’s history, with books about phenomenally influential women like Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama.

Sleepy Dragon Books also has crochet kits, watercolor kits, watercolor workbooks, paintbrushes, paintable notecards, bookmark corners, magnets, patches, and more.

“In the future, we will have book clubs, author signings, and more events. Currently, the only book club we have planned is our monthly book club at Honey & Ivy, which is the last Wednesday of every month from 6-7:30 p.m.,” Southerland stated.

Interested in following Sleepy Dragon Books’ journey? You can find them on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.