Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar

The week before Christmas, I brought some out of town friends here. I’m a wheelchair user and it was pouring outside. I noticed the wheelchair lift was filled with cardboard boxes, but the store was busy and I couldn’t get any help. I sent them a message about it and the response I received led me to believe that the issue would be taken care of. I went back several weeks later while it was freezing outside and was verbally accosted when I asked about the wheelchair lift. I was accused of causing trouble and «trying to make [the owner] feel bad» for asking if the lift would be made useable.
I’ve never been treated so harshly because of my disability. I will NEVER shop here again and encourage others to find alternative venues for their literary desires. I’ve encountered discrimination before, but never vehemently.

Wow a funky cool place with a great vibe. Set up like a high end used bookstore but with couches and chairs and quiet nooks to read and work. Coffee was good and the employees nice. They even have a bar with wine etc. Found a couple of fun books to buy and worked. Highly recommend a visit and a walk around the Battery Park shopping area as well. Opens at 11 so not a morning place to work.

Thank you for really bring so dog friendly. A lot of places say they are, but really are not. My husband and I and out beagle Molly spent a lovely afternoon hanging out drinking a well recommended bottle of wine and small plates. Molly felt safe and was happy to be offered dog treats and a bowl of water from Emily!

This place has such a cool atmosphere. It is cozy, with a lot of seating (some places are in little nooks away from the main area). I got a blood orange mimosa, and it was great. The juice was freshly squeezed and very refreshing.

Been here many times. Strike 1 will not take Amex, 2 no Apple Pay & 3 no internet service. Please get w/​the times! This is Asheville an international city:)
Service is great, cool to bring my dog & buy books while sipping champagne & snacking on cheese!

Terrific bookstore for difficult to find books. Spoke to the owner who is very friendly and has a work area open to the public. He encourages anyone with books to contact him, as he may be willing to purchase some. He keeps track of his inventory and works to obtain books when his inventory falls low in a certain subject.
The bookcases are very well indexed.
Prices are fairly low. Much cheaper than what you will find, perhaps half of pricing you will find in a city such as Washington DC
The store has a charming little bar and seating area, where you can just sit and watch the pedestrians passing by the store.

I had the best latte in my life at Battery Park Book Exchange. Like a little spice? Try their Doberman latte.
Nice place to cozy up on a weekend night with wine, coffee, and good company. Lots of nooks to escape or chat away. Shelves and bookcases of used books (contemporary, rare — you’ll find something).
Nice atmosphere and experience. Unique place to wander around and pass some time talking with friends. I recommend this to friends visiting Asheville that love wine, books, and coffee, who can handle Battery Park’s magical mixture of cozy & intimate disarray.

This is a really cool bookstore and a must see if you are visiting Asheville. I have read the other reviews and locals seem disappointed in the direction the bookstore has gone recently. Whie I can empathize with their concerns, for a tourist it’s a great place (which is probably terrible to say). I was pleased with their selection of books and low cost, and loved how much comfy seating they had throughout the store. I liked the scattered, yet classy feeling of the store (as all bookstores should feel).
I did not partake of the refreshments since I had to drive home after, but the champagne bar is a great idea and a perfect compliment to reading. I didn’t give this place 5 stars because it can get extremely packed on the weekends which prevents one from enjoying it. Try to catch it on the weekdays, or if you have to be there on the weekend, just drink a lot of champagne and you probably won’t care about how many people are there.

I’ve never ordered any food/​drink or bought a book here. This review is based entirely on the ambience it creates making it an awesome place to take a book loving girl on a date. I’m not sure what it is but there seems to be something magical about bringing a girl into a room that looks like the kind of place you’d see Oscar Wilde drinking wine and scribbling notes.
If, that is, he wasn’t too busy busting rocks with a sledge hammer in a forced labor camp. I guess that’s the price you pay for being overdressed.
You might not see anybody else hanging out here though. It looks cozy but feel sterile. Often enough I’ll spot a book club trying to have a meeting here in a cramped area but they’re obviously frustrated by the constant interruptions created by the steady stream of traffic.
It’s worth a visit.

When my husband and I planned our trip to Asheville, this was the ONE place I needed to stop at. Unfortunately, it was not what I expected.
This place is heavy on the champagne and very light on the books. Their fiction sections are literally inaccessible behind walking ramps and tables of people drinking, while there are huge signs everywhere discouraging you from actually reading the books (i.e. purchase a book and get out). They have also shoved tables into any spot where they will fit both upstairs and down, making it impossible to browse what I assume was the main attraction when this place first opened.

Exactly what you would expect from the name. Interesting and beautiful layout. You’ll want to walk around and see every nook and cranny of this place before you plop down in a comfortable leather chair, with a glass of wine (from their enormous wine list), and a book. Come to stay for a while.
Lots of wine, an espresso bar, champagnes, a limited but (but good) selection of draft beers, and a small selection of hors d’oeuvres.
Note: lots of 8 – 12 person seating areas can be reserved.

What was once a sanctuary for work and peace for me has been ruined by poor choices from the management and owners of this establishment.
The Battery Park Book Exchange WAS a great place to catch up on work, study, get away from crowds and really buckle down on tasks at hand, but now the management has decided to no longer offer wifi to customers.
In an age where our work and communications are all done in a digital manner to not offer wifi to customers and patrons feels like one of the most foolish decisions that a business could make.
I showed up today and found a lovely area to study and work, set up my laptop, went to the bar to purchase a pair of beverages for my wife and I, and asked for the receipt so that I could have the wifi password. It was then that the barista informed me that the owner has decided to do away with wifi across the board.
Great. Now I have to pack up everything and go find somewhere else to work. I had a chance to speak to the GM, who simply said she was sorry. Which is nice, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can no longer work at the Battery Park Book Exchange. She explained to me that «a few bad apples have ruined the barrel for everyone» that «some people spent all day here and didn’t purchase anything».
It’s a bummer. I love supporting local business, but the Book Exchange has slowly been transforming themselves into a museum for tourists. Look, don’t touch, don’t read the books, don’t come here if you’re a local, don’t work here. Come here for wine and the ambiance, that’s it. Make more room for the tour bus visitors that get dropped off across the street.
It would seem that rather than exploring solutions for wifi access that many other institutions in the area utilize, such as High Five’s two hour access for a purchase, the Book Exchange’s choice to remove wifi access for all patrons is unwise and ill advised. I no longer feel welcome at this establishment, and that breaks my heart.

If you want to enjoy the –experience– of shopping for your books, this is the place for you.
Cool space and great location. I really liked the atmosphere both inside and outside the store. Prices seemed mostly fair and the selection was ample. Good for small group gatherings too.

What a lovely space! And could there be a better place than a bookstore to have a champagne cocktail, a local craft beer or cup of coffee?
Inside, there are two floors of used books for sale. Leather chairs and couches near the bar are comfortable spots for sipping a drink. Upstairs, there are tables for your computer (free wi-​fi) and private nooks. There’s also some outdoor seating.
Asheville — and the Grove Arcade — are lucky to have this place.

I. Love. This. Place. I was sold before I got here, simply by telling me it was books and champagne. But then I walked in, and realized that first, it’s in the Arcade, a super awesome old art deco mall. Second, it’s not just books and champagne, but they have amazing loungey seating everywhere to snuggled up and have a glass of wine and great conversation about books. They have new and used books. Coffee, wine, beer, and more. We also got to talk to the woman behind the bar on Saturday afternoon and she sat with us and had a nice conversation about Asheville after finding out that we were visiting from out of town. I wish I could transplant this establishment back to my hometown because I basiscally want to live here.

This is as close to heaven as it gets for literary lasses — walls and walls of books, old favorites and new lit to be discovered and bottles and bottles of champagnes — six different brut roses (our favorite), demi secs, bruts, cavas, moderate to top of the line. Cozy leather club chairs, velvet settees, a tented pavilion a maharaja would love, kitschy mounted game taxidermy, and puppies. Lots of puppies.
Seriously? Books, bubbles and pups? Wish they’d go condo. There’s an amazing loft overlooking the place to perch at a rail and watch the scene.
We loved it so much we returned after brunch again. Best business idea ever!

5 stars for concept, 5 stars for style, but I can’t give 5 stars overall because the service is just okay. But I really do love the Book Exchange.
Being a bibliophile, I’m going to enjoy any spot where you can enjoy coffee, wine, or beer surrounded by books. It’s a pretty special place. Upscale styling throughout, but very unassuming (dogs welcome). For such a nice place, the pricing is surprisingly fair. Make sure to check out the section of rare books and first editions (behind glass) near the bottom of the stairway around the back side.

Everything in this place is in some way aesthetically pleasing. Whenever I’m in here, I find myself looking around at different angles and snapping mental pictures. I finally went upstairs this last visit and was amazed at how many little nooks and crannies there are. The bookcases and chairs/​seating areas go on and on. So many different colors and textures! So many places to lose yourself and relax!
The main floor has both a coffee bar to the right and a champagne bar to the left; they serve everything from wine, champagne and craft beer to coffee, local desserts, and some upscale snacks.
There are used books everywhere you look. You can easily spend a whole morning or afternoon browsing while you imbibe. For you dog lovers, it is pet friendly. I’ve seen quite a few mutts on parade, but they’ve all been well behaved.

Awesome little book store with wine, and coffee. How sweet is that?! The books are on the pricey side, but the atmosphere is worth chilling for a drink or two.
The upstairs section was a lot hotter than downstairs, otherwise cool place!

There aren’t a lot of places I’ve ever seen that are quite like what my friend lovingly refers to as «The Wine Library».
Upon walking in, newcomers are always immediately taken aback by how incredible the place just *looks* at first glance. Two stories of towering bookshelves, arranged in a maze that means you can never see more than a few meters in front of your face.
To the left, a bar that serves up wine and champagne by the glass or bottle, and a handful of beers. In front of you, a smaller stand that serves coffee and a few locally-​made pastries. In every other direction: Books. Books and comfy seats anywhere you look.
Just take a lap of the place. Get lost in the shelves. Relax on one of the many couches with a book in one hand and a flute of champagne in the other. It’s a fantastic place to meet friends, to relax and disappear for a while, anything you want.