Employees at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco have unionized, joining the Industrial Workers of the World Local 660, KQED reports. Approximately 16 workers are eligible, and most have signed union-authorization cards. The store plans to recognize the union, with an official decision slated for tomorrow. “City Lights has always been actively engaged in the project of creating and evolving a fulfilling, equitable, and humane workplace. This is a key to our institutional philosophy, and it has informed our practice from the beginning,” City Lights executive director Elaine Katzenberger. “If unionization can provide us with new tools for helping us […]
Bookstores
Vroman’s and Book Soup Are for Sale
Joel Sheldon, owner of two Vroman’s bookstores in Pasadena and Book Soup in Los Angeles, announced Thursday that he plans to sell the store. Almost 80 years old, Sheldon wrote on Twitter, “It’s time to begin the process of retiring and finding new ownership outside of the Sheldon family,” which has been the “steward” of the stores for over 100 years. He added, “Vroman’s deserves new ownership with the vision, energy, and commitment necessary to take it successfully into the future.” Sheldon promises, “We will take the time needed to find the right new ownership — someone who shares our […]
Tattered Cover Files Reorganization Plan, with Higher Debts Than Originally Declared
Following their first filing for voluntary bankruptcy in mid-October, the owners of Tattered Cover filed a reorganization plan with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado earlier this week. While the store group initially said it lost about $660,000 during the year last year and owed at least $1.375 million to publishers and Colorado’s Office of the State Auditor for abandoned gift cards, the new documents depict a more severe situation. As of the initial filing in October, they had secured debt of approximately $820,000, and unsecured claims of just over $3.2 million. In the previous year, 2022, […]
Bookselling: Lauren Groff to Open Bookstore In FL
Author Lauren Groff and her husband, Clay Kallman, will open The Lynx bookstore in Gainesville, FL next year, Shelf Awareness reports. The 2,300-square-foot store will be located in the South Main Station area of downtown Gainesville and will specialize in titles by Florida authors and books that are banned in the state. The owners plan to “institute a profit-sharing model” for employees, and they are currently looking for a general manager.
B&N: 47 of 50 Locations Opening in 2024 Will Be New
Further to our report about the 50 stores Barnes & Noble plans to open in 2024, the company clarified that three will be relocations and the rest will be “new-to-market or in markets we exited at an earlier time/date due to lease expirations.” They have signed leases on 43 locations so far. Regarding total store count they tell PL, “We currently have 604 stores with 7 more stores planned to open this year. We have two stores closing and relocating in December and this will bring the total number of stores to 610 by end of 2023.” They continue, “If […]
Barnes & Noble Expects to Open 50 New Stores in 2024
As Barnes & Noble continues to announce new store openings for this fall, the company has updated their standard press release language with a significant addition: “The bookseller expects to open…over 50 [new bookstores] in 2024.” As with the 30 or more stores the company expects to have opened in 2023, there is no indication of how many of those locations might be new stores, and how many are replacement stores for recent or existing locations. Throughout 2023, the published store count has remained at “approximately 600 bookstores.” and many, though not all, of the new locations have been smaller […]