Atomic Books is about to get a lot bigger. The independent bookshop on Falls Road in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood is expanding its footprint from roughly 2,000 square feet to somewhere between 6,000 and 6,600 square feet, taking over the second floor above its current storefront and opening it to customers this fall.
The expansion, first reported by The Baltimore Banner, will add a newly painted upstairs room where fixtures are still being installed, according to the outlet's report. Co-owner Benn Ray, who is 57 and grew up in Glen Burnie and Pasadena, told the Banner that customer support made the growth possible, and that the added space means “more space, more room to browse, more things that we aren’t carrying right now” for shoppers. The downstairs area, the report notes, will stay largely unchanged even as the store's inventory continues to grow.
There's a practical backstory to the timing, too. Per Baltimore Fishbowl, the second-floor space at 3620 Falls Road previously housed an eight-lane bowling alley before later becoming a dance studio, and Ray has said taking over the upstairs space eliminated ongoing noise disruptions that used to filter down from the dance studio above. Atomic Books had previously had a rotating cast of upstairs tenants, including dance studios, before this expansion put the whole building under one roof.
A Two-Decade Run on Falls Road
Atomic Books first opened on Hampden's 36th Street back in 1992, and Fishbowl's earlier reporting traces the shop's path through the neighborhood: it closed briefly in 2000, reopened on 36th Street in 2001, and finally settled into its current spot at 3620 Falls Road in 2008. Co-owners Rachel Whang and Benn Ray, who also serves as president of the Hampden Village Merchants Association, have run the business together for more than two decades, according to the same outlet.
The shop sells books, comics, rare periodicals and other reading material, and it hosts author events on top of its retail business. Tucked in the back is Eightbar, a small bar that opened in late 2013 with a bar top decorated by cult cartoonist Daniel Clowes featuring artwork from his comic series “Eightball,” which inspired the bar's name, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. Eightbar pours local craft beer including Union Craft Brewing's Duckpin Pale Ale, along with cider and wine.
John Waters Still Picks Up His Mail Here
Atomic Books has another claim to fame: filmmaker John Waters picks up his fan mail at the shop, a partnership that has drawn regional and international foot traffic for more than two decades, according to Hog Island Press. The store maintains explicit rules on its website about how Waters' mail is handled and does not accept email requests for his autograph.
Atomic Books also anchors a small cluster of independent businesses on the block, sitting alongside Celebrated Summer Records at 3616 Falls Road and Nepenthe Beer Hall. The two shops have collaborated on neighborhood events, including Record Store Day listening parties held inside Eightbar, according to reporting from The Baltimore Watchdog.
Part of a Broader Bookstore Boom
Atomic Books' growth mirrors a broader rebound for independent bookstores nationally. Roughly 422 new independent bookstores opened across the United States in 2025, a 31% jump from the previous year, contributing to a 70% rise in the number of U.S. indie bookshops since 2020, according to The Guardian. The American Booksellers Association, a trade association for independent stores, also reported that indie bookshop sales grew 5.8% year-over-year in 2024.
That trade group's membership has climbed too, expanding to more than 2,400 stores by mid-2026, nearly double its total from 2016. More than 500 new shops joined the American Booksellers Association over the past year, according to the Associated Press. Baltimore's own bookstore scene has grown alongside that national trend, with Atomic Books joining specialized shops like Red Emma's, Normal's Books & Records, Greedy Reads, Bird in Hand and The Book Escape as neighborhood literary hubs across the city.
For now, Atomic Books plans to open its expanded second floor on weekends this fall, keeping its familiar downstairs layout intact while the new room comes online. It's the latest chapter for a shop that has spent more than three decades finding new ways to stay rooted in Hampden.
