Rainy afternoons and good books often go hand and hand, and Thursday was no exception.

As rain hit the windows at 3 of Cups, downtown Olathe residents and business owners peeked into the area’s new bookstore, browsing the shelves for their next read.

“They’ve all been super supportive and excited for us to be here,” said Ashley Mantooth, one of the shop’s three owners alongside sisters Starla and Jasmine Titus. “They are blown away by how much we’ve done in six weeks.”

Following a soft opening for friends and family, 3 of Cups Bookstore & Commons officially opened its doors on Thursday, inside a historic downtown Olathe home.

3 of Cups opened at 101 W. Cedar St.

• The store occupies a space just off Cedar and Cherry streets in downtown Olathe.
• There, it operates near the Junque Drawer boutique.
• 3 of Cups is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

3 of Cups offers books and bookish gifts

The two-story store offers a variety of books, as well as spaces for people to enjoy them.

On the shelves of the first floor, customers can find books in genres like thrillers, historical fiction and romance.

The shop also offers gift items like bookmarks, candles and art supplies.

“We wanted to get a collection where everyone of any age or reading style would find something that is interesting for them,” said co-owner Starla Titus.

Two big pink couches on the first floor offer a place for people to flip through the pages. Upstairs, younger readers can find their own selection of books and dedicated reading nooks.

The pink is a common theme for 3 of Cups; the shade of pink that covers the walls is called “romance” pink.

“It’s just very soft and feminine and welcoming, and we kind of chose it as the main body color of the house because it almost represents a heartbeat throughout the walls,” Mantooth said.

Though they aimed to leave the house’s historic character intact, the 3 of Cups team said they also wanted their own additions (particularly in terms of color) to reflect the space’s inviting and eccentric nature.

“That is the whimsy that this place needs,” Starla Titus said. “This house has so much character. We needed to go bold to keep up with it and to make it what we want it to be.”

The owners want 3 of Cups to be a gathering space

Though the book side of things is up and running, 3 of Cups’ food and drink side is still to come. Once vendors and licensing are finalized, the shop will offer coffee and tea drinks, some cocktails, and some snacks and grab-and-go lunch items.

For the store’s owners, 3 of Cups is about more than what’s on its shelves.

The trio aims to make the store a place for people to connect with one another, including through the six monthly book clubs that they plan to host there.

The connection aspect is, in large part, where the store’s name came from. In the practice of tarot card reading, the 3 of Cups card is thought to represent friendship, community and gathering.

“We want to create this space for the community,” Mantooth said. “We want people to come in and feel comfortable and explore and be creative. And obviously, books are magic.”

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