River Reader

A quaint small town book store right on Main St. across from the courthouse. As American as you can get. I ventured in because they had an espresso machine and needed some caffeine while wandering around the small street fair that was going on today. My iced mocha was made with dark and white chocolate and was delicious. I love supporting these type of small town independent stores.

I moved to Lexington, MO 3 years ago. Discovering River Reader, which incidentally sits right next door to Trail's public library is the "crown jewel" of Main Street. What a treat in our small town to have this quaint, cozy bookstore. You can find a selection of children's, cookbooks, novels, history to name a few.Don't forget to treat yourself to one of Pat's homemade chocolate chip cookies, along w/your European crafted latte. Happy browsing, shopping, and Bon appetit.

Located on Lexington's Main Street, the River Reader is an excellent spot to grab coffee and find a quiet spot to read. Pat, the owner of the bookstore, is a wonderful lady. She makes all of the yummy treats (plum bars to die for, delicious ginger cookies, amazing brownies, homemade chocolate chip cookies etc..) and keeps her shelves filled with a variety of books.One of the great things about the River Reader is that you can order books through the store. I have requested books on a variety of subjects and Pat is always happy to get them in for me. She keeps an amazing selection of cookbooks and unique children's items as well.River Reader also offers quite a few drink options. Soda's (cans and bottles), hot teas, iced tea, coffee (iced drinks too), wonderful Italian sodas (with and without cream/whip cream) and a coffee/ice cream treat. The store also has Wi-fi, electrical outlets to charge your laptop, a bathroom and plenty of comfy seating.If you happen to find yourself driving through Lexington, you should definitely stop by River Reader and grab a drink while you browse the shelves!

I love this place, and the people that own it are pretty special. Peaceful, helpful, good coffee and Italian sodas, and lots to choose from to read, or write, or contemplate. Highly recommended.

Good coffee, good books, local business. What else do you need? Lexington, despite being a sleepy Midwest ( when did Midwest become a bad thing?) town, is surprisingly liberal. To open a business here you have to prove to the chamber of commerce that you are going to provide the town with something unique. You want to be a pizza place? Too bad there's already a pizza place here. Irish bar? Already have one. Sports bar? That would be fine. This is impressive because based on this simple philosophy, they were able to keep Walmart out of their town. They already had a clothing store. The already had a grocery store. And most importantly, they already had a book store. So thanks but no thanks Walmart, shove off. This place is small, but in a small town way. It's been recently renovated, but the owners were careful not to ruin the history that this old building holds. From the front windows in the shop you can plainly see the cannon ball, from a bloody civil war battle, that is stuck in one of the columns of the court house across the street. They remember you here. When you buy baked goods here, you can rest assured that they are home made, and better than anyone's mamma makes. Unless of course your mamma works here. They serve a unique brand of coffee here that is from Portland called Ravens Brew. The owner told me she had been serving Roasterie coffee, but their attitude towards her, a small business owner in a small town, was less than stellar. She felt she deserved better and good for her. The coffee they serve here is delicious. They make whatever fancy pants drinks here you want, all of them have gone through barista training, but I still love me some black coffee. They have a great children's section in this little place. There is also a smart selection of left winged books that one may not expect to find in such a small town. They pride themselves on their knowledge of the literature they sell here. Feel free to ask them questions. If there is one thing that separates a small town shop from a store in an urban area, it would be the sincerity of the staff when they ask you how you're day is going. It's unrealistic to suggest driving here just for a book, on a weeknight. I would strongly encourage anyone out there, with a day to spare though, to explore this beautiful old town. The city has done it's damnedest to remain a small town, despite pressures from corporate bullies as strong as Walmart. As time goes on, I think we'll find that there are fewer and fewer towns like Lexington. It's small, but all the store fronts are full of bustling businesses owned and operated by individuals, not overseen by some giant corporation thousands of miles away . For this reason alone, I think all the businesses in this little town deserve all the support that all of us "liberal" city folk can give them.

Love this place so much. The people are lovely and it's the perfect place to hang out or bring your kids. There are delicious drinks (my favorite is the Italian soda) and they do a lot of events. There is something for everyone while also being cozy. I highly highly recommend coming here and supporting this small business.

I just love their Chai Tea to sip while browsing their great array of children's books for my grandchildren or the latest coffee table books for myself. I look for excuses to end up downtown Lexington while they are open just so I can have one of their Chai. If you want she will top it off with loads of whipped cream. Recently, during the local "Shop till it Stops" benefit shopping night for House of Hope I sipped my Chai Tea while strolling down the street looking at all the cute shops from antiques to fine ladies wear. It was just what I needed to warm me on a windy, spitting rain cool October night!