Two Toronto booksellers are preparing to launch their own shop in the city’s east end.

Queen Books, located on the popular Leslieville strip, is scheduled to open in early April. Co-owners Alex Snider and Liz Burns – who met while working together at Type Books in Forest Hill Village – are both residents of the family-oriented neighbourhood. Snider and Burns searched for an ideal location with plenty of foot traffic, which they found in the 1,700-square-foot former paint store on Queen Street, east of Logan Avenue. The space required minimal renovations, other than replacing the drywall and a point-of-sale counter.

The general-interest shop will feature a comprehensive children’s area, as well as a substantial fiction section. The co-owners are currently reaching out to the local community by asking for title requests.