‘Home away from home’: Epilogue Books is a hub for community and diversity in Chapel Hill

Nestled in the middle of a bustling Franklin Street filled with college students, coffee shop and bookstore Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews has become a staple for UNC students. Owned by Miranda and Jaime Sanchez, Epilogue’s food and drink offerings are inspired by Jaime’s Mexican roots. 

Like its coffee cups, Epilogue is filled to the brim at all hours of the day, making it the perfect place for students to grab coffee and complete work surrounded by never-ending bookstacks and beautiful vines hanging from the ceiling. 

Ironically enough, part of the reason Jamie and Miranda Sanchez originally moved to Chapel Hill was because of a bookstore. 

“It says a lot about a community that they have a bookstore in a busy and expensive downtown,”  Jamie Sanchez said.

As nomads, Chapel Hill was the only place where Jamie and Miranda Sanchez felt like they belonged. In November 2019, they launched Epilogue to commemorate the community they found.

“The store is a microcosm of our values as a family and who we are as a family,” Jamie Sanchez said. “And of course, the values being what we stand for.” 

Some of the items in the store are inspired by Jamie’s culture as an immigrant from Northern Mexico, including bakery items like churros and buñuelos, as well as Mexican handmade mugs for sale. One of the defining specialties of Epilogue is the bookstore, which is led by Miranda Sanchez. 

Rowan Gibson, an employee at Epilogue, mentioned that one of his favorite parts about the job involves reading the new books that come through the store. He also said he enjoys trying seasonal drinks the café offers with his coworkers. 

Ensuring that Epilogue’s customers are able to find themselves represented in the books showcased at Epilogue is important, Jamie Sanchez said. The books sitting on the shelves are intentionally selected to represent a myriad of backgrounds and expose customers to a variety of perspectives around the world. 

“We go after the stories that are not funded enough to be told when they get published,” Jamie Sanchez said. “We go after the small press.”

Beyond the books and the coffee, Epilogue’s space has been deeply involved in the community by hosting various events, from weekly trivia nights to monthly poetry workshops with Chapel Hill Poet Laureate Donovan Livingston.

UNC student Paige Leihsing said her favorite part of Epilogue is attending coffee hours with her Dutch professor. 

“He lets you come in and talk Dutch for an hour and he pays for your coffee,” Leihsing said. 

These Dutch coffee hours are one of many examples of UNC students and faculty using the Epilogue space for academic purposes. Epilogue also hosts its own events for students, including “Speed Friending” for first-years and transfer students looking to meet peers.

However, Epilogue didn’t always have as much space to host events for the community. In 2022, Epilogue expanded next door and opened its sister store, Prologue Rare & Used Books, which primarily functions as a place to host events and sell used books. 

Opening Prologue was a difficult process that wouldn’t have succeeded without support from the landlord and local community, Jamie Sanchez said. He went on to say that without the eventual success of the Prologue expansion and the broad support of the community for the business, Epilogue might not have stayed open past 2022.

Through community events, café offerings and book selections, Jamie and Miranda Sanchez have worked to showcase the love they have for the Chapel Hill community and its diversity.

“The point of Epilogue is to be that landing place where you don’t have to worry about who you are, or worry about people judging you,” Jamie Sanchez said. “Home away from home.”

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