Wauwatosa’s Little Read Book store to close after 40 years in the Village

WAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN, June 2, 2025—The Little Read Book, an institution in the Village for four decades and one of the Milwaukee area’s most beloved independent bookstores, will be closing next month. The shop’s final day in business will be Friday, July 18.

Owner Linda Burg opened the shop in July 1985, initially on Harwood Avenue south of the train tracks, in the kitchen of what was most recently the Firefly Tosa restaurant. Burg said she originally conceived the store as a “coffee shop that also sold books.”

But when coffee proved not profitable enough, it instead became a bookstore that gave out free coffee. The Little Read Book has been a gathering place for Tosa bookworms ever since. The shop moved to its current location at 7603 W. State St. in 1989.

With its cozy children’s room and a curated inventory tailored to customer requests, the Little Read Book is filled with memories for many. Burg says she’s seen three generations of customers from families who frequent the shop. “People come in and say, ‘I was here as a kid, I loved the children’s room,” Burg recalls. “It’s been wonderful seeing customers bring their own kids in over the years.”

Burg says it was the unshakable loyalty of the shop’s customers that got her through 4 decades of ups and downs as an independent bookseller. “They got us through Covid—during Covid we were closed, but we sold books out the side door, and people would come with their masks on. The most I can wish for any independent bookstore is to have a customer base as loyal as ours has been.”

Over the years, Burg turned down multiple requests to open additional locations of The Little Read Book, preferring to continue to focus on the Tosa shop. “We were asked repeatedly to open stores elsewhere, and we always said no, because my kid couldn’t have jumped on his bike and come have a sandwich with me anywhere else,” Burg says. “We’re not that kind of independent bookstore—we’re just a local mom and pop store. We never wanted to be anything else.”

Burg was joined in recent years by her husband Fred, who began helping run the store after he retired as a social worker. Now the Burgs say they’re ready to “not have responsibilities”—they’re especially looking forward to spending time with their 8 grandchildren, who range in age from 9 to 20.

Little Read Book’s full inventory will be on sale beginning June 15. Hours are typically 11 am to 2 pm, but may vary, so call to confirm.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.