Independent bookstore Neighbor Books is now open in Historic Downtown McKinney.

The store, which began a soft-opening period July 26, has seen a number of shoppers come in, including McKinney residents as well as members of surrounding communities such as Frisco and Celina, owner Joey Honescko said.

“It was really, really cool to see how excited people were about the thing we were excited about,” he said.

The details

The shop is owned by Honescko and his wife, Ginny, who are also downtown McKinney residents. The store offers books in a wide array of genres, such as:
  • Non-fiction
  • Fiction
  • Religion and spirituality
  • Cookbooks
  • Children's books
  • Young adult
The shop also offers puzzles, games and Neighbor Books branded items such as shirts and mugs.


The shop spans two levels, with the bottom floor featuring books and merchandise with some seating areas and the upper mezzanine level offering a variety of seating areas.

Neighbor Books offers a membership program, according to its website, with members receiving perks such as:
  • 20% discount on all purchases
  • 40% discount on best sellers
  • Free self-serve drip coffee
  • Early access to events
The shop has added about 200 members, Honescko said. Neighbor Books will also begin offering events such as author signings, puzzle nights, book clubs and more. An event calendar is expected to be available sometime after the grand opening, he said.

Diving deeper

The couple completed minor renovations to the space, including painting and the installation of new shelving. Honescko said they aimed to retain original elements of the space as much as possible.


Members of the community also contributed to completing upgrades and furnishing the space.

“The amount of people that rallied behind us in different ways ... the name ‘Neighbor’ just continues to mean more and more,” Honescko said.

The name of the store, Neighbor Books, was inspired by the “neighbor mentality,” which connects people based on proximity and despite their differences, he said.

Honescko noted that the soft opening period has allowed the couple to identify trends from shoppers as well as ask guests for feedback.


“We're trying to cast a wide net because we ... want everyone to feel like this is a place for them,” he said. “To see the diversity of people's choices has been really cool as well, because things that I didn't necessarily think would fly off the shelves, that ... I love ... People brought those books up and I’ve been like ‘Hey, just let you know, this is really meaningful that I get to sell this to you.’”

Quote of note

“We've lived here for a long time [and] we felt this was something ... that would benefit the [downtown] square,” Honescko said. “That's part of the reason why we did it, was to contribute something to something we've benefited from.“

Looking ahead


A grand opening event will be held at the store Aug. 10.

The event will include storytimes in both English and Spanish held throughout the day, Honescko said.