Opening a book shop was a dream Selena Giampa never expected to come true.

Giampa manages Parthenon Books, Salina Street's newest bookstore, but a year ago, owning a bookstore was just a fun dream for her.

“I found out that my job was being eliminated due to COVID. And this literally just kind of fell into my lap,” said Giampa. “I found out that the address is 333. That's my dad's lucky number. And my dad passed a few months before all this happened. So I was like, yep, there it is.”

She spent the next year learning the book business, opening in June with 10,000 books and 3,000 pieces of stationery and gifts.

“I'm old enough to remember the economy bookstore, it was up the block on the same side of the street, and that closed, I believe in 1993. And so, ever since then, downtown has just had this void,” said Giampa.

It's been a while since there's been a store like this one in downtown Syracuse.

“Part of our mission is to make Salina Street Main Street again," she said. "As a kid, I came downtown and loved shopping downtown, and then it just dried up. And so it was really exciting for me to be able to be part of making Main Street a thing again.”

The Syracuse Downtown Committee said over the last five years, it's gained 13 new businesses.

“That we want it to feel like familiar but new at the same time. And you know, we want our customers to know that we are dedicated to putting as much back into the community as they give us,” said Giampa.

That's promoting less scrolling and more reading. In addition to a section of books, there’s also a cafe inside to fulfill sweet dessert cravings or coffee needs.