Indie bookstore & cafe with a big all-day breakfast menu, veggie options & a relaxed vibe.

Tell us your story/detailed overview

Trident Booksellers & Cafe was opened in Boston in the fall of 1984 at 338 Newbury Street by Bernie and Gail Flynn. They moved to the Boston area in 1983 from Vermont where Bernie owned a bookstore. That store was started in 1976 at the end of the "hippie turned back-to-the-land, turned Buddhist, turned entrepreneur" sort of era. The immediate motivation for opening a business in Boston was the birth of a son and the concurrent realization that making a living was not optional. The bookstore-cafe idea took shape because at that time in Boston there were very few places to sit down with a fine cup of coffee and linger over a conversation or a book. There were grand ideas and very little capital and a location that was considered the wrong end of Newbury Street at the time. A mixed beginning at best. Now, nearly 40 years later, “The Trident” as we all call it is still alive and fully established. We are fortunate to be considered a vital part of the culture of Back Bay and the Boston area in general.

When open (hrs.)

Monday to Friday: 8AM - 10PM

Need To Know/Community Rules

We truly appreciate your presence in our community, and your support means the world to us. As a café, we’re grateful when you savor our delicious offerings and share your appreciation through generous tips. Your kindness helps us keep our mission alive. Here are other tidbits for you: Fika moments: https://tridentbookscafe.com/events/calendar Embrace your place—this is where you truly belong!