Cherry-picked items

A dense-looking baguette, bisected and stuffed with some sort of cheese, sits in a cooler, wrapped in cellophane. Stuck to it is one of those red-and-white striped badges that reads, “Hello, my name is,” and then, handwritten, “Gruyere & Butter.”

The presentation makes me chuckle. I know what I’m having for lunch, because it just introduced itself to me.

Atticus, the new coffee and gift shop owned by Andy and Kris Dinnison, is (or will be, once they’re done painting and changing out the horrid ’90s track lighting) subtle and tasteful and clever in all the ways their other venture, the beloved adult toy store Boo Radley’s, is brash and hip and gaudy.

The Dinnisons have added their touch to the goods of sale, which still communicate the subversively quick-witted, bookish vibe of Boo Radley’s, while doing so in a toned-down way.

The Halloween décor they sell is all allusions to Poe and the Romantics. There’s a nice collection of inspirational cards and some antique-y furniture. There’s an insane collection of Four Seasons teas — along with those super-hip Tea Forte pyramids — and the location, which used to be a Four Seasons Coffee, is still selling the roaster’s bulk beans.

An autumn opening is fitting. The whole place — from the gorgeous, backlit window decoupaged with pages from To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that recalls a shoji screen to the pillowy foam on their lattes ($2.20-$3.35) — makes you want to curl up and tuck into a book.

The cleverest thing about the food selection, besides the name tags, is that Atticus buys from multiple local bakeries. They stock scones ($2.50), including the deliciously smoky ham-and-cheese, along with various turnovers ($2.50) from Bouzies Bakery. They stock éclairs ($2.50), macaroons ($1.75) and the tantalizing-sounding Citrus Madeleine ($1.25) from Santé. They have the Rocket’s famous no-bake cookies ($2.25) and a gooey-as-all-hell caramel almond roll ($2.75) from Sweetwater Bakery. “We just kinda cherry-pick,” Andy says. I don’t know why more coffeehouses don’t do this.

The signage by designers Richard and Kate Vande Wend — an outline of a bird on a branch with “ATTICUS” in a ragged-edged typewriter font above — communicates, with few cues, what the space is all about.

It’s pitch-perfect branding. You get it before you even walk in the door.

— LUKE BAUMGARTEN

Atticus, 222 N. Howard St., is open Mon-Sat 7:30 am-6 pm, Sun 10 am-5 pm. Call 747-0336.