Books & pizza served up side by side in new Madrid store

The combination of books and coffee is a familiar one to patrons of bookstores the world over, but books and pizza is a distinctly less common pairing. Enter Spanish La Pizzateca, a new shop in Madrid’s Barrio de las Letras where patrons can satisfy the hunger of both body and mind. The brainchild of Spanish publisher ES Ediciones, La Pizzateca offers a wide range of artisanal pizzas and calzones made from natural ingredients for enjoyment in-house or to go. It’s also a bookstore, however, and it even offers specials to encourage both pursuits. One, for example — dubbed the “menú de las letras” — includes a slice of pizza and a book for just EUR 5. La Pizzateca is intriguing not just for its innovative pairing, but also because it was conceived not by a retailer but by a book publisher, opening up a new avenue for revenue and relevance in a struggling industry. Bookstores and publishers around the globe: this one’s for you! (Related: Cookbook-only store with test kitchen and café — Publisher launches academy for aspiring writers.) Spotted by: Leticia Pérez Prieto