A unique bookshop on the Lower East Side has found itself oddly associated with pickles—and it’s relishing the experience.
Sweet Pickles Book, which offers a quirky exchange of books for pickle jars, counts celebrities like Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, and Jacob Elordi among its patrons. The shop is thriving as it prepares to open a second location.
“I didn’t really know what I was getting into with this store. But it’s been a huge hit,” said owner Lee Altschuler, 34.
Prior to this venture, Altschuler was the communications director at the renowned Strand Bookstore. She started this journey during the pandemic in November 2020, storing 360 jars of pickles on her own.
Currently, she keeps the stock flowing by offering a two-pound pickle jar for every five books traded in.
With a wide range of used books priced anywhere from free to $14, the shop attracts fresh visitors, especially on weekends.
Among its celebrity visitors are Styles, actress Emma Roberts, and singer Joe Jonas. Wilde even sparked a social media buzz when she sported a Sweet Pickle Book hat during a shoot in 2022.
Styles’s visit before his Madison Square Garden shows notably boosted the shop’s popularity, making it a staple among celebrities.
Beyond pop culture aficionados, the shop has tapped into a fanbase passionate about unique finds.
“People just love both books and pickles. It’s like they can’t believe we combined them,” Altschuler noted.
The shop is currently overwhelmed with donations, prompting Altschuler to seek a second location within the neighborhood.
The new store, “Sweet Pickle Books: Rare, Fine, Fancy,” will showcase rare and valuable texts, including a signed autobiography of Michael Jackson.
“Emma Roberts is a big fan who loves checking out our rare collection,” Altschuler shared, pointing to the current space dedicated to unique books.
Altschuler is in talks for this new lease while also renewing her existing one for the Orchard Street site.
“This will give everything here a bit more space to breathe,” she explained about her plans for the new shop.
The inspiration for her unusual bookstore arose after her previous marketing role was cut during the pandemic. Seeking a fresh start, she wanted to create something that merged her love for second-hand books with a creative concept.
Altshuler’s blend of pickles and literature pays homage to the neighborhood’s rich history as a Jewish enclave celebrated for its pickle market.
She is also engaging customers with stories about the historical significance of the area.
The nearby tenement museum even collaborates with the shop, allowing visitors to buy jars of various types of pickles for $12.95.
“It’s a history that’s at risk of being forgotten,” Altschuler remarked. “This area has ties to Eastern European immigrants who faced so much to start anew here.”
She hopes her supply of pickles lasts a “lifetime” for the shop, which has proven to be highly successful—so much so that she’s sourcing pickles from Texas farms now, with over 80,000 bottles currently available.
