In the 1998 romantic comedy You've Got Mail, what is Kathleen Kelly's bookstore called?

The story behind the answer

In You've Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly’s bookstore is called The Shop Around the Corner.

Kathleen, played by Meg Ryan, runs the small children’s bookstore in New York City with help from her family and employees. Her business is threatened by Fox Books, a large chain bookstore opened by Joe Fox, played by Tom Hanks. Their commercial rivalry parallels the anonymous online romance developing between their characters.

The name is a deliberate reference to the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch. That earlier film also follows two people who dislike one another in person while developing an affectionate correspondence without knowing each other’s identities. You've Got Mail updates the correspondence through email and changes the setting and business conflict.

A common mix-up is to answer Fox Books, but that is Joe Fox’s bookstore chain. Kathleen’s independent shop has the older, more personal name, reflecting the film’s contrast between neighborhood bookselling and corporate expansion.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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