A different vibe will fill the four walls that once housed About Food in Southold.
On Aug. 1, Nicolas Amara, founder of Forked Road Press (53975 Main Road, Southold) will bring his rare book business into the storefront.
“I’ve always dreamed of opening a bookstore,” Amara says.
Amara, a Southold native, majored in literary studies at The New School in Manhattan.
In 2018 he started as the shipping manager for The Mysterious Bookshop, a mystery specialist bookstore, also in Manhattan and was introduced to the rare book trade.
“I’ve been into literature and writing since late high school,” says Amara. “In terms of rare books and book dealing, I wasn’t even aware of the whole industry until I had this job in a bookstore.”
Acquaintances of his were selling their own used and rare book collections on the streets of New York. In his spare time Amara started doing the same.
“The funnest part of the job is definitely, not to sound goofy, but the thrill of the hunt.”
Nicolas Amara
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made his way back to Southold and created Forked Road Press as an online bookstore selling his stock of unique reads.
“I started it with that name because I definitely have the intention of publishing and putting things out with that name,” says Amara. “I’m also a musician and I’ve put out some music under Forked Road Press as the record label name.”
Amara quickly found his market via social media, with regulars who would come to him thanks to their shared passion for the preserved page. In December 2023, he and vintage clothing and accessory purveyor, All Hours NY, run online by Bianca Munguia-Howie, engaged in a month-long pop-up in the root cellar at White Flower Farm, allowing each of them to bring their treasures past to to the present public. It was an experience that stuck with Amara.
Amara seeks out unusual and rare, out-of-print or tiny print run tomes that bibliophiles will find fascinating. (Photo credit: Amy Zavatto and Bianca Mungia-Howie)
About Food owner, Gerard Lane, died on June 10 leaving the much-loved location vacant. The gourmet food shop sold a variety of edible delights, antique and new dinnerware and kitchen items.
Amara learned of the vacancy shortly after Lane’s death from another Southold shop owner.
The landlord for the property is doing some renovations in the space before Forked Road Press takes over, but Amara has started moving some things in and has mapped the set up for his store.
Among the used and rare books he will be selling vinyl records and paper ephemera, two things he also sells online.
His favorite book genres include literary fiction and poetry, which he also writes himself. All will be browsable in-store along with his folk/regional history selection, sci-fi, horror and crime/mystery fiction books. He also plans to add art and posters to his inventory.
“This job that I have for myself is kind of like a 24-hour, seven day a week thing in some respects,” Amara says, “because I’m always gathering stuff.”
Just before signing the lease Amara purchased his largest collection with over 5,000 books.
“The funnest part of the job is definitely, not to sound goofy, but the thrill of the hunt,” says Amara. “Just going out, seeing what you can find, talking to people.”
And he can’t wait to do just that in Southold – talk to his customers and connect with rare book lovers.
“Selling in person is much more organic,” says Amara.
Check out Amara’s website for more information and on Instagram for store updates.
