Pages for All Ages bookstore in Savoy, IL announced their closing in a sign on the window, after more than 20 years in business. And Henderson, Nevada’s Cheesecake and Crime, a mystery book shop and cheesecake joint opened about 14 months ago, will close at the end of February.
Closing
Oscar Wilde Next Store to Close
Greenwich Village’s Oscar Wilde Bookshop, “believed to be the oldest gay and lesbian bookstore in the country,” will close March 29. The store has struggled for a long time and “nearly closed six years ago, only to be sold and given a last-minute reprieve.” Owner Kim Brinster notes, “Even if we were rent-free, it wouldn’t be enough for us to cover the bills we have. This is one instance in New York where it’s not a case of the landlord gouging the tenant. Our landlord has always been remarkable with us.”NYT
Durham's 'Book Ex' to Close February 14
The Book Exchange, aka The Book Ex, a “downtown Durham, NC institution,” will close after 75 years in business. Co-owner Fran Feinberg says, “It’s a terrible loss to the community. It’s not a decision we made lightly. If we thought we could make it we would, but I don’t see that happening. I guess the writing is on the wall.” Feinberg adds, “It’s becoming harder and harder to make a profit,” Feinberg said. “You’re working with a very small profit margin and then you’re looking at a very bad economy.”News Observer
Another Big Indie Lost: Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops to Close
The Milwaukee-based group of four independent bookstores will close at the end of March after 82 years in business, president Carol Grossmeyer announced on Sunday. General manager Daniel Goldin is buying the store on Downer Avenue, which will be named Boswell Book Company. And Lanora Hurley, manager of the store in Mequon, “is in discussions” to acquire that location, which she would rename Next Chapter Bookshopm, the Milwaukee Sentinel reports. Grossmeyer told the newspaper, “This has been the most emotional six months of my life, and now it’s culminating in a decision that was coming for a while. You want […]
Stacey's of San Francisco to Close
SFist reports that “Stacey’s finally told its employees today that they will close shop sometime in March. A source in Stacey’s corporate sales tells us: ‘Venerable Stacey’s Books, after celebrating 85 years in business this last fall, announced to staff today that the store will close sometime in late March.'” The SF Chronicle follows with its own story. “The store’s general manager, Tom Allen, said sales had dropped 50 percent since March 2001. But the final blow was the crumbling economy, which hit hard during the holidays. Stacey’s sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 plummeted 15 percent from the […]
Another Portland Store Faces Closing
Portland, Oregon’s Twenty-Third Avenue Books is the latest longstanding independent store to put out a call for help as they approach their twenty-ninth anniversary. In “a call for help this holiday season,” the store writes that “we’re wondering if that date [the January 1 anniversary] will be the final closing of our beloved shop.” They note: “We’ve all been affected by the current state of the economy, like so many of our fellow independent bookstores, and Twenty-Third Avenue Books is no different; we’re behind in our rent and facing eviction. With no funds to relocate, such a state of affairs […]