Inside the TikTok-famous Philly bookstore where couples spend date night

Walking down Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, you might notice a small bookstore where couples enter hand-in-hand as the evening settles. Inside H&H Books sits a table for two decorated with wine glasses, name cards, rose petals and twinkling candles. A carefully curated playlist sets the mood and hand-picked paperbacks perfectly frame the table. All that’s missing are the lovebirds, so Linda Gallant and Claire Moncla , who co-run the store, wait.

Aakash Patel and Neha Atyam wander into the bookstore around 5 p.m. on a Sunday when Patel suggests they stop in on their way to a friend’s house warming party. But as soon as Atyam sees the sign with the words, “Will you marry me?” she realizes there is no party after all.

“We open the door, and she’s super surprised — she doesn’t know what to do,” Patel recalled. “And then she was bawling her eyes out.”

Patel lets her take in the scene before dropping down on one knee with his little red ring box. Good Days by SZA plays in the background as he asks Atyam his very important question.

Amongst the books, candles and photos of their past dates, Atyam said yes to Patel. She left the bookstore with a ring on her finger, a fiancée and, of course, a book.

“She’s a huge bookworm — when we get a place eventually she wants to make a room with her own library,” he said. “She’s kind of one of those people that wanted something quaint (for her proposal) and so it (the bookstore) ticked all those boxes for it.”

Patel and Atyam are one of many couples who have expressed their love for each other with Date Night at H&H Books. The special night began with one reservation every other day — two years later, it’s expanded with two bookings a day.

Date Night began “as a way to have people be in the shop — one couple at a time” during the pandemic, Moncla said. The idea was a way to keep the bookstore alive during tough times.

“The original concept was let’s get people in here in a way that they would feel safe. And also let’s make this fun and romantic and a cool thing to do. And it just has grown from there,” Moncla added.

The Head & the Hand began in 2012 as a traditional indie publisher in Fishtown by Nic Esposito , who runs a local urban farm in the neighborhood called Emerald Street Community Farm. Gallant joined shortly after in 2012, followed by Moncla. The two have been a part of the team since, watching the business shift throughout the last 10 years.

It became a nonprofit arts organization in 2014. And then later in 2019, Moncla and Gallant opened the bookstore in the Fireballs Printing Company in East Kensington as a pop-up store. But then COVID-19 hit and the business partners decided to add a second element to the shop — Date Night.

“It’s a huge part of our business in this sort of new model that we’ve come into,” Moncla said. “Let’s have an interesting way for people to interact with this physical space.”

The bookstore received a grant that helped them expand to their current space on Frankford Avenue in March of this year. And Date Night has flourished in their new address, with lots of social media buzz.

“I would say we’re booked up,” Moncla said. So much so, the bookstore incrementally raises the price for the special event each year.

“As we expand, we’re doing two of them a day, so staffing costs are what’s changing the price.”

When couples sign up, a scheduling app reserves their date. The couple fills out a form with questions on music, complimentary beverage and book preferences. Moncla and Gallant curate playlists, offer beverages like wine and beer and display the couple’s favorite books for Date Night.

On the scheduled night, the two get to work. They close down the store early and set the table with glassware, cloth napkins and name cards. Electric candles are lit and a playlist is queued up.

A knock at the door signals the lovebirds’ arrival. The couple is then ushered in by a volunteer and left in the space to enjoy drinks, food (if brought along) and each other’s company amongst novels of all genres.

Gallant and Moncla have witnessed numerous dates with couples of all backgrounds expressing their love for each other, and have hosted small wedding ceremonies with only the officiant and the couple in the shop, as well as guests looking to impress their crush.

“I was asking one of the participants their love story and he was like, ‘Well, I’m not sure. She came to visit me for the weekend and I just brought her here,’” Moncla said. “And I really want us to be together but we’re not necessarily.’ We’ve definitely seen people using the Date Night as them shooting their shot.”

“I think that’s the thing for us — we get to see so many people be surprised, which I think is really lovely.”

Couples can reserve their spot from Tuesday through Sunday. There are two time slots: 5 p.m. for an hour and a half at $85, and 6:45 p.m. for two hours at $100.

Booking for Date Night can be done online.

Note: Date Night is designed and priced for two people. If you have a larger party, email the bookstore at info@theheadandthehand.com about pricing. At this time, larger parties are considered on a case by case basis and not guaranteed.

📍2230 Frankford Ave., 🕑 Thursday to Sunday noon to 5 p.m. 🌐 theheadandthehand.com

Update: A previous version of this article stated Claire Moncla joined the bookstore’s team in 2012 and Linda Gallant followed after her. We regret the error.