An Unlikely Story

Everything has a story to tell no matter how unlikely it may be.

Greg Heffley, his best friend Rowley, Mom and Dad, “Roderick Rules”, and the “Cheese Touch”. With his widely acclaimed “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series, author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney created a kind-hearted and empathic lens through which hundreds of thousands of people could warmly view their own childhood. Mr. Kinney’s adopted home town, Plainville, Massachusetts, was in need of some kindness and empathy, too. The town’s iconic Falk’s Market General Store — the nerve center of the town for generations — had fallen into disrepair. So Jeff and his wife Julie bought the property with a vision to breathe new life into their community by redeveloping the site and bringing back the local gathering place. Partnering with Bergmeyer, the Kinney’s dream of creating a bookstore to inspire and promote reading became a reality in the building known as 111 South Street. Inspired by historic American general stores, wharf buildings of colonial New England and the Falk’s Market itself, the building combines Federal style forms with a new, state-of-the art building infrastructure. The design supports a wide variety of functions. A generous front porch on South Street creates a space to meet neighbors or watch a local holiday parade. In the bookstore, named “An Unlikely Story”, comfortable seating areas allow visitors to peruse their selections while replicas of Harry Potter’s flying brooms magically chase the Golden Snitch across the beamed ceiling. A café on the first floor brings friends together over food and drinks while listening to local live music. 111 South Street not only created that magical place for inspiring the love of reading, but also became the new social and commercial hub for Plainville. On the second floor, a flexible, open community center was designed for a multitude of events from book signings to community meetings and performances. The third floor is Mr. Kinney’s headquarters for creating his inspiring characters. A lofty space that follows the slope of the roof line, it opens with generous dormers to the main street. An adjoining community co-working space occasionally hosts groups of fans wanting a closer look. Flooring for the project was reclaimed from an old Nutty Buddy factory in Dorchester. Ceilings were brought in from a demolished Kentucky tobacco factory. Furniture was made from wood salvaged from a 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and repurposed slugs from a letterpress. “Everything”, Kinney gleefully says, “has a story to tell.”