Last Thursday night, having turned off the lights after the first full day’s trading at the newly-reopened Bunch of Grapes bookstore, Katherine Fergason sat down in the aisle, in the dark, in the silence and cried.

Happy tears this time.

It was not just that the bookstore was back — albeit in temporary form and in a temporary location — after the July Fourth fire.

It was the smell of 4,000 brand new books. And the smiles of scores of old customers.

“The best was watching people who hadn’t actually seen each other since before the fire, because they always met at the bookstore,” she said.

“The way one person put it was that we are like the town water cooler. So for people to run into each other in a way they hadn’t since June, was really neat to watch.

“And for me, since I do the kids’ books, it was seeing some of the kids come in whom I hadn’t seen in months.

“There was one little boy, who always came in and it was one of his favorite places. He and his friend came in with his Mom, and told her they were coming to their paradise.

“He bought a couple of books and he wanted to pay with his own money. When I gave him the change he turned and said, ‘Where’s the tip jar?’ ”

No, it hasn’t been the commerce side of the book store which has most pleased those people long associated with it, although sales numbers have been more than encouraging. It’s the social side, the community side.

New owner Dawn Braasch has been in, providing crackers and cheese and cider. The nibbles only contributed to the feeling that it was “like a big party,” she said.

Sales had been brisk, notwithstanding the fact that the temporary store — surprisingly cozy in the warehouse behind Beadniks on Church street — has only about one tenth of the space and stock of the old store.

As might be expected, given the slightly out-of-the-way location of the temporary store, most of those who have come have been old customers, with a smattering of new.

Most surprisingly, some had come in who had heard of the Bunch of Grapes, but didn’t know the old store had burned down; Ms. Fergason tells of one such customer, who confessed surprise that the store was so small for such a famous place.

Meanwhile, works continues apace on the reconstruction of the real Bunch of Grapes on Main street; the building will remain under the ownership of Ann Nelson, who is the former owner of the bookstore. This week Ms. Braasch said the computer wiring was going in, and plans for the store layout were being finalized.

Not that the layout will change a lot from the old — you don’t mess with success. It will still be children’s books upstairs, adults’ downstairs. But she said she hopes the place will be more “airy.”

In a way, the fire has done some good — ceilings that had been lowered over the years to accommodate duct work may be raised a little, and Ms. Braasch is hoping to open the space up a bit and find a little more space for seating.

There remains no set date for reopening, although the hope is for April or May.

But much is already back. Even if people cannot browse so big a selection of books, they can order them. And they can once again get advice on what’s a good read.