The unlikely story of ‘Wimpy Kid’ author Jeff Kinney’s Plainville revitalization

The “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” author and owner of An Unlikely Story bookstore is on a mission to energize his adopted hometown of Plainville, Massachusetts.

Plainville, Massachusetts is a small town of less than 10,000 people located about 40 miles south of Boston. If you were to drive through its downtown, you’d currently see shuttered storefronts and parking lots surrounding the town’s jewel, An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.

“It is not much of a downtown,” said Maggie Clarke, a member of the Plainville’s select board and redevelopment authority. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s blighted, but it certainly needs a facelift.”

That’s where an unlikely source comes into the picture.

Jeff Kinney, the owner of the bookstore and author of the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book series, is on a mission to revitalize his adopted hometown’s downtown area and make it a gathering space for the community to enjoy for generations to come.

Kinney and his wife Julie built the bookstore at the corner of East Bacon and South streets in 2015 with a vision to breathe new life into the town center. They didn’t initially plan to redevelop the town square when they built the bookstore, but later felt pulled to do more for their community.

“The bookstore was the spark that started it all. It’s the cornerstone of the redevelopment project,” Kinney said in a phone interview with Boston.com.

The Kinneys ambitious vision would completely overhaul the existing town center, once known for its manufacturing and textile industries, and turn it into a destination spot for residents and visitors. Once demolition is complete, building plans include a restaurant, beer garden, and a town green that could host farmers’ markets, festivals and town gatherings. Residents are ecstatic about the plans.

“It’s a true gift, what he is doing for our community. He’s not doing it for the fame and he’s not doing it for the recognition. He is doing it because he is sincerely invested in our small little town,” Plainville resident Kelly Connor told Boston.com in an interview.

The Kinneys, too, stressed their desire to make a genuine impact on the town and its people for the better.

“It felt like we needed to do more, especially in a time when there’s so much polarization in our society. Now, we’re taking on a much more ambitious phase of the project, which is to build a town square,” he said.

‘Jeff from Plainville‘

Kinney and his wife have lived in the former manufacturing town since 2002, having been drawn to its location near Julie’s parents in Worcester, its proximity to Boston, and low-key profile.

“It’s a really unpretentious town. Its name says it all,” Kinney said. “We’re proud to have raised our kids here and we’re proud to be doing something to help develop and redevelop the center of town.”

They’ve have stayed in the town despite being able to live almost anywhere thanks to the immense fame and success of the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” franchise. The book series is on its 18th installment, with more than 290 million copies sold globally, making it one of the best-selling book series of all time. The “Wimpy Kid” franchise also includes a live-action film series, three animated films, and a musical.

Boston.com spoke with nearly a dozen Plainville town officials and residents who were unanimous in their praise for the Kinneys loyalty to the town and dedication to its betterment.

“If there was a Plainville Hall of Fame, he would be a first round inductee,” Robert Rose, a Plainville Selectman of 15 years and former resident told Boston.com.

Brian Kelly, chair of the town’s select board, agreed. He lives down the block from the Kinneys and said despite the huge success of the “Wimpy Kid” franchise, the Kinneys have remained the down-to-earth family they have always been.

“When you have that type of success, you can go anywhere. But he’s stayed in Plainville, improving the community. It’s not self-serving at all right. He’s serving the community with his success. It’s really remarkable,” he said.

“No matter how internationally famous he’s become, he’s still Jeff from Plainville,” Kelly added.

The Kinneys wanted input from the community on their idea, and started a Facebook group, Plainville Square, for community members to keep abreast of the redevelopment plans and to provide feedback. They also launched a website of the same name to provide concept images of their plan. Both have been met with an overwhelming amount of support, the author said.

Indeed, scrolling through the page are comments from several community members voicing praise for the plans and the Kinneys involvement.

“Let’s rename it Kinney Square!” one commenter joked.

Restoring the ‘vibrancy of the past‘

At one point in the town’s history, the town center was a vibrant and active area that hosted parades and community events, according to Kristine Moore, the chair of the Plainville Historical Commission.

Kinney worked with the commission on his redevelopment plans to make sure the proposal honored the town’s past and restored it to its former glory. The town’s heyday was part of the Kinneys’ inspiration for their redevelopment plan, Plainville Square.

“It was really kind of the hub that brought people together. There was a lot of activity down there and it was really inspiring. I think that’s probably the major thing that inspired us,” Julie Kinney said of the town center’s historic role as a hub for locals and surrounding towns.

“When we looked at those historical photos, we could see the vibrancy of the past, and we think that there’s a big opportunity to bring that back. We’re really excited about this,” she said.

Residents agreed that the town needs, and is missing, a community space for residents to congregate.

“We don’t have that kind of place where everyone can come and congregate. I do think that every town needs that,” Kelly Connor, a Plainville resident, said.

The project is being broken up into phases of development, with the demolition of existing structures surrounding the bookstore likely to occur in late spring or early summer, Kinney said.

Once demolition is complete, the first phase of development aims to add a town green and beer garden to the two corners of the intersection.

Kinney’s plans for the town green include a landscaped space with an anchor restaurant and a function space for outdoor events such as farmers markets, craft fairs, seasonal celebrations, musical events, and more.

Plainville resident Samantha Faille, 36, lives within walking distance to the town center. She said she is most excited about having another potential restaurant in town and for the revenue boost the new-and-improved downtown area would provide to the town.

“If people are traveling from North Attleboro to like the [Wrentham] outlet, it’d be nice to have them stop at Plainville and spend some of their money here. I think it’ll be good for tax revenue and for business to the town,” she said in an interview.

On the diagonal quadrant, Kinney hopes to create a beer garden with semi-permanent outdoor food stalls made from repurposed shipping containers that will, over time, be built out into permanent storefronts. He estimates the development of both quadrants will take between four and five years total to complete.

Kinney said he will continue to engage with the community for their feedback on what types of businesses they’d like to see on the second quadrant.

Connor praised the Kinneys for being sincerely interested in getting feedback and speaking to community members.

“He’s really looking for all hands on deck and all community members to have input into the project. It’s not something that you got from a typical developer,” she said.

Once the downtown project is completed, Kinney said he hopes downtown Plainville will serve as a model for other small towns looking to breathe new life into their town centers.

“Our goal for our town is to bring people together. But our overarching goal is to create a model town center,” he said.