"We wanted to make sure that we maintained more retail in downtown Plano," Bibliobar owner Chelsea Tresp told Plano Magazine in August, when she explained why her bookstore was moving a few doors down East 15th Street and keeping its old shop.
When a small shop moves, its old storefront usually sits empty with paper in the windows. At 1018 E. 15th St., the old space reopened the same day as the new one. On Saturday, Oct. 17, Bibliobar opened in its larger home at 1024 E. 15th St., and Rack & Relic opened in the room the bookstore had just left. Rack & Relic is a consignment collective, and anyone in the community can rent a rack there for two weeks.
Three Addresses, One Chain of Moves
This started with a closure. Lyla's Clothing and Gifts announced on July 31 that it would close its Plano shop, and the store shut on Aug. 27. Owner Meagan Wauters said she wanted to focus on the Rockwall store, Community Impact reported. Lyla's still has a storefront at 114 E. Rusk St. in Rockwall and an online shop.
Tresp moved into the space Lyla's left. "We were not anticipating moving, but the opportunity came along, and we could not pass it up," she told Plano Magazine. Here's how the block looks now:
| Address | Before this summer | As of Oct. 17, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1024 E. 15th St. | Lyla's Clothing and Gifts | Bibliobar, about 2,000 square feet |
| 1018 E. 15th St. | Bibliobar, about 900 square feet | Rack & Relic consignment collective |
| 1035 E. 15th St. | Not listed | Studio 15 salon, opened in September |
The bookstore more than doubled its floor space without leaving the block, according to Community Impact's August report. Bibliobar's announcement on Instagram called the new space "twice as large," and the square footage supports that.
Why the Old Room Stayed a Shop
Tresp could have given up the 1018 building. She kept it on purpose, for a reason that came from downtown itself. "People in Downtown are always saying they miss the old antique and vintage stores, so we are bringing that back with a twist," she told Plano Magazine.
Rack & Relic doesn't carry one owner's stock. It works more like a set of very small stalls. Tresp described it as "a true Downtown collective where any member of the community can rent their own small space for two weeks and sell their items, whether that is a closet cleanout, upcycled vintage, handmade items or a test case for a boutique." Its website asks shoppers to "shop slow," Community Impact noted, and its photos of the shop show vendors selling jewelry, shoes and other apparel.
Testing a boutique in a permanent storefront means signing a lease and building out a space. At Rack & Relic, a seller can try it for two weeks on one rack, and shoppers can see a new seller every couple of weeks.
How a Two-Week Rack Works
The rental terms on Rack & Relic's rent-a-rack page are simple.
- Inventory. The store has 25 racks, each rented in two-week blocks.
- Cost. Sellers pay a rack fee, which the booking calendar lists at $80, and the store keeps one-third of sales.
- Setup. Renters choose shelf or clothing-rod options for their space.
- Timing. Sellers set up on the 1st or 16th of the month and clear out on the 15th or the last day of the month.
- Upcoming openings. As of late October, the booking calendar lists $80 rentals starting Nov. 1, Nov. 16, Dec. 1 and Dec. 16, 2026.
The rental page focuses on sellers and doesn't post store hours. Check the shop's site or social channels before you plan a browsing trip.
That calendar also changes how the shop will feel from visit to visit. Every rack can turn over twice a month, so the room you walk into in mid-November won't be the room that opened on Oct. 17.
What the Bigger Bookstore Is For
Bibliobar began as a pop-up in 2017 and opened its first storefront in 2023. The new space adds a larger, more varied book selection, a children's section, stationery, games and gifts. Tresp told Community Impact that she wants it to become a "third space" for people who live in and visit Plano, with room for craft nights, author talks, book clubs and parties.
The neighbors who use the store helped pay for the move. Tresp raised money for new built-ins and inventory, and donors got scaled discounts on future purchases. She also asked for bookcases, tables, chairs and couches, plus volunteers for woodworking, painting and murals. "We are not a bookstore backed by private equity; we are backed by the people who love our store," she told Plano Magazine. She said 25 people answered the first call for volunteers on the first day, not counting the five to 10 regulars who had already signed up.
"This is really a community space and event." That's how Tresp described the move to Plano Magazine.
Across the Street, a Third New Door
Bibliobar and Rack & Relic weren't the only shops opening on this stretch this fall. Studio 15 opened at 1035 E. 15th St. in September. Owner Tati Brodsky calls the full-service salon a "one-stop shop" for hair, nails, brows and more. Community Impact reported that Studio 15 planned its grand opening for Oct. 17, the same Saturday the bookstore and the consignment shop opened.
That put two openings and a third shop's grand opening on one block in a single day. Fewer than 10 weeks earlier, Lyla's had closed there.
Downtown McKinney's storefronts change slowly, and we wrote about two new restaurants moving into its oldest buildings. Downtown Plano's turnover this fall ran on a different model. One local owner moved, kept her old space and filled it herself.
The Block's Calendar Through December
The bigger bookstore and the rotating racks will both be open for the busiest weeks of the year downtown. Here's what's scheduled on or near 15th Street:
- Friday, Dec. 4, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Author Kit Aldridge has a book event at Bibliobar, according to the store's events page. Buy a book and you get a free specialty cocktail.
- Saturday, Dec. 5. Dickens in Downtown Plano is a free event in the Arts District and Haggard Park, and Visit Plano lists it from 5 to 10 p.m. It includes a 7 p.m. tree lighting, Santa and Mrs. Claus, a snow slide, a children's market, crafts, a vendor village and readings of "The Polar Express" at the Interurban Railway Museum. The City of Plano is the event contact.
- Sunday, Dec. 13. The free Downtown Plano Holiday Market brings in local vendors, gifts, permanent jewelry and a hat bar, with downtown restaurants and boutiques nearby.
- Dec. 1 and Dec. 16. These are the next Rack & Relic rental periods, so the racks will turn over twice between Thanksgiving and the end of the year.
For a local seller, the Dec. 1 rental period runs through Dec. 15, so a rack booked then would be on the floor for both Dickens and the Holiday Market.
At Alvarez Signature Group, we pay attention to the small moves that keep a downtown block working, like a bookstore that kept its old storefront open to its neighbors. If you're thinking about how changes like this affect a home or a commercial space near downtown Plano, Alvarez Signature Group is glad to talk it through. Explore our Plano neighborhood page, or Get in Touch when you're ready.
