Mary Martin Bookshop traces its name to 1945, when Mary Maydwell Martin opened a shop in Adelaide's Brookman Building and built a reputation for serving tea to browsing customers. The brand later expanded into Melbourne, and although Mary sold her interests in 1962, the name survived and was revived from 2017 under current owner Jaye Chin-Dusting, who added stalls at Queen Victoria Market and South Melbourne Market to the original Southgate store. The South Melbourne Market outlet occupies stall 138 in the Centre Aisle, opposite the market's information centre, and follows the market's own Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday trading days. Like its sister stores, it carries a curated general fiction and non-fiction range rather than an exhaustive catalogue, alongside a dedicated children's section organised by age group, greeting cards, and small gifts and toys. Staff maintain a "books we love" display of recommended titles. The bookshop's stock and hours can be checked through the same central phone line and website used across all three Melbourne locations, and online orders placed through marymartinbooks.com.au can be delivered or collected. Small design touches, such as mandala-patterned bookmarks, nod to founder Mary Martin's later move to India. In 2019 the bookshop was named Independent Book Retailer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.