We did not expect to be writing this post. Just a few weeks ago, we were days away from opening the doors of our new Lioness Books location in Leander, Texas. The shelves were stocked. The inventory was in place. The excitement was real. And then, on the night of March 26, a fire broke out, destroying everything we had prepared for that opening.
What happened next showed us what community support for local businesses truly means.
The Leander Fire Department quickly put out the fire and kept it from spreading to neighboring properties. Thankfully, there was no loss of life due to their quick response. Stephani McGirr and the team at EGS Marketing helped us find our footing and communicate clearly to our customers when we were still processing grief. Several local businesses stepped up to help us through fundraising and book collections. We have to thank Penny Royal Bakery, 5th Element Brewing, Turquoise Peacock Boutique, and Sharks Burger for hosting fundraisers for our benefit. Many, many more collected books, PPE, and other items we needed in their neighborhoods. The Leander Chamber of Commerce served as a donation collection site for us.
We would not have found our bearings without any of them. Each one of these people demonstrated what community supports local business truly means, not in theory, but in action, in real time, in the middle of our hardest week.
The donations followed. A GoFundMe was shared, and the response genuinely moved us. People giving what they could, sharing the link, leaving messages of encouragement. Every contribution was a direct act of community support, a key to local business recovery, and it told us something important: this store already meant something to people before it ever opened its doors.
The outpouring reminded us that community support for local businesses is not built overnight. It is built through showing up, over and over, in small ways and large ones. Leander showed up for us in both.
The Story Reached Beyond Leander
We were moved by how quickly the word traveled. Local and regional outlets covered the story, and reading those articles was humbling. Each one brought more people into the conversation and into the effort to help.
Fox 7 Austin covered the fire and the investigation. They also aired a video report that showed the scope of what was lost. CBS Austin reported on how the fire wiped out our entire inventory just days before move-in. MSN picked up the story and expanded its reach further. The Austin American-Statesman ran a piece on what the delay means and what the road ahead looks like, framed with care and honesty.
We are grateful to every journalist who covered our story. We are even more grateful to every person who read it and then did something. The community supports local businesses like ours, which depend on and are amplified by those outlets, and this is a big part of why we are still standing and still planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When is Lioness Books planning to open?
We are opening Saturday, April 25th, 2026.
2. Is the bookmobile still operating during the rebuild?
Yes. The bookmobile is still out in the community, and we intend to keep it that way. Upcoming events and locations will be posted on our social media pages and website as they are confirmed.
3. How can I help Lioness Books rebuild?
The most direct way to help right now is through our GoFundMe campaign. Every contribution goes toward replacing the inventory and materials lost in the fire. Beyond donations, sharing our story and following along on social media keeps the momentum going and means more than you know.
4. Were any books or inventory saved from the fire?
The fire broke out in the on-site storage building. Every single thing scheduled to go into the brick-and-mortar location was a total loss. We are incredibly grateful that the mobile bookmobile trailer and the actual physical store building were both safe and undamaged. That means the foundation we need to rebuild is still intact, and the bookmobile is still out there serving the community while we work on what comes next.
5. Will Lioness Books still carry the same selection of used books and diverse titles?
Absolutely. Our mission has not changed. Lioness Books will continue to offer affordable used books that celebrate diversity, inclusivity, and a love of reading for all ages. That is the heart of why we started this, and no fire changes that. As we rebuild our inventory, we will also be looking at ways the community can get involved in shaping what comes next, so stay tuned.
We Are Coming Back, Stronger Than We Were
There will be a delay. The opening we had planned will look different, and that is okay.
The building is still standing. The team is still here. The mission has not changed by a single word. Lioness Books was built on the belief that books and community belong together, that a bookstore can be a resource, a gathering place, and a small act of care for the people it serves. That belief did not burn.
We are deliberately rebuilding our inventory and timeline, not rushing. We will share updates here and across our social channels as things develop. What we know is that the community supports local business owners' dreams, but rarely seen, has given us something no fire can touch: proof that this store matters, and proof that Leander is the exact kind of place we always believed it was.
A lioness does not stop. She finds her footing, and she comes back for her pride.
We are coming back. And we are coming back for you.
With full hearts and endless gratitude, The Lioness Books Team
