EP-Books

EP-Books (益品書屋) is a Taiwanese specialty bookstore and reading space founded in August 2016 by Tai Sheng-yi (戴勝益), the founder of the Wang Steak Group (王品集團). Unlike conventional bookstores or libraries, EP-Books operates on a model of "no lending, no selling" — visitors pay a flat entry fee of NT$100 and can read hardcover picture books on-site while enjoying unlimited self-serve coffee, smoothies, and tea. The collection is organized into five categories: food, travel, lifestyle, aesthetics, and children's books, reflecting Tai Sheng-yi's personal interests in travel and oil painting, and his wish to encourage adults to read together with children. The first branch opened on Ren'ai Road in Taipei in August 2016, followed by a Taichung branch on Huiwen Road. In September 2022, the Taipei branch relocated to Tamsui District in New Taipei City and was renamed the "Tamsui Branch." The Taichung branch ceased operations in August 2023. In March 2020, Tai Sheng-yi also founded the EP-Museum (益品美術館) in Lugu Township, Nantou County, to exhibit his own paintings, with an entry fee of NT$100 including unlimited coffee and tea. Both venues host lectures, concerts, parent-child experience camps ("Little Curator Experience Camp"), and aesthetic handicraft courses, and offer venue rental for events. EP-Books is a private enterprise wholly owned and operated by Tai Sheng-yi. It is not a subsidiary of the Wang Steak Group, though its founder's background is closely associated with that group. The brand positions itself as a cultural and artistic space rather than a commercial bookstore, emphasizing the thickness of culture that text carries compared to digital messages. Its current main location is the Tamsui Branch in New Taipei City, while the EP-Museum continues to operate in Nantou.

EP-Books was founded in August 2016 by Tai Sheng-yi, the founder of the Wang Steak Group, with its first location on Ren'ai Road in Taipei. The concept was to create a reading space distinct from traditional bookstores and libraries: books are neither lent nor sold, and visitors pay a flat entry fee of NT$100 to read on-site, with unlimited self-serve coffee, smoothies, and tea. The collection focuses on hardcover picture books in five categories: food, travel, lifestyle, aesthetics, and children's books. A second branch opened in Taichung on Huiwen Road. In March 2020, Tai Sheng-yi founded the EP-Museum in Lugu Township, Nantou County, to exhibit his own paintings, with a similar entry-fee model including unlimited coffee and tea. In September 2022, the Taipei branch relocated to Tamsui District in New Taipei City and was renamed the "Tamsui Branch." In August 2023, the Taichung branch closed. The Tamsui Branch and the EP-Museum continue to operate, hosting lectures, concerts, parent-child experience camps, and aesthetic handicraft courses, and offering venue rental.

• 2023

  Taichung branch closed.

• 2022

  Taipei branch relocated to Tamsui District, New Taipei City, renamed Tamsui Branch.

• 2020

  Founded EP-Museum in Lugu Township, Nantou County.

• 2016

  Founded EP-Books on Ren'ai Road, Taipei.

A non-commercial cultural reading space offering unlimited drinks and hardcover picture books for a flat entry fee, promoting reading and arts.

• Hardcover picture books

  Five categories: food, travel, lifestyle, aesthetics, children's.

• Self-serve beverages

  Coffee, smoothies, tea, unlimited refills included in entry fee.

• Venue rental

  Meeting rooms and event spaces available for rent.

• Little Curator Experience Camp

  Parent-child program where children learn cashier and barista service.

1. 1益品書屋 ep-books / 益品美術館 ep-museum – 官方網站epbooks.com.tw
2. 2EP-Books - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3益品書屋 - 維基百科zh.wikipedia.org