I’m a bit behind the current on this one, but I just read what might be the saddest state-of-the-times quote ever and had to share: “I think there’s probably a bigger profit margin in noodles these days.” That’s Richard H. Gins, bankruptcy attorney to Olsson’s Books—one of Washington’s oldest independent booksellers—comparing noodles to novels. So much for the need to satiate one’s hunger for knowledge, I guess.
Olsson’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this summer and shuttered their 15-year-old Penn Quarter store (to make way for British noodle shop, Wagamama).
The Washington Post has all the hairy deets:
Olsson, 76, began selling books and records in the District 50 years ago and has battled the economic forces of big-box competition and Internet sales. But ultimately his business is being strained by forces close to home.
“We sort of helped make the neighborhood what it is. And it’s a great neighborhood, but we can’t afford the rent,” Olsson said. A few years ago, the store’s rent in the renovated Lansburgh department store building was $30 a square foot. Now, it has risen to $50 to $60 a square foot
Though I usually patronize Kramerbooks or Busboys and Poets when I’m going the independent bookstore route, Olsson’s offers great book signings and it’s a shame to hear of their troubled times. Indeed, the Arlington location of the bookstore was the setting for one of my first cultural excursions upon arrival in D.C., and my resulting Nick Hornby-signed copy of High Fidelity still sits proudly in a prominent top-tier spot on my bookshelf.
what a sad state of affairs! my personal favorite dc bookstore is capitol books, located right next to eastern market. it’s a quirky little secondhand store with books literally piled floor to ceiling. i once bought an old paperback of In Cold Blood there for $3 – only to find out later it was a first edition! occasionally they have discussions and wine and cheese tastings. i will be a sad woman on the day that store closes to make way for noodles.
sad book stories aside, im loving the blog!
make that capitol HILL books – whoops! haha, i dont read the sign, i just read the books.
http://capitolhillbooks-dc.com/chbooksdc/
Thanks, Kristen! I like Capitol Books too and bought a super-cheap copy of Travels with Charley there. I love how the “foreign language section” shares space with the bathroom. Weird, but a little awesome too.
Yes, it is sad. That was truly a nice location and I went to a few notable book signings and talks there when I lived in the DC area. I also remember the location above Metro Center that was replaced with a Bank :(.
I also visited a store called “Chapters” while there, but don’t know if they are still in business.
Thank for the article, be excellent article.
So sad. Continues with my least favorite trend in this country, the lack of reading.
It’s scary when you meet people who literally (haha!) haven’t read anything other than magazines and websites in more than a year. I feel so sad for the kids since they will live in a world where everything is already pre-imagined for them and they will not have to use their own imagination to come up with how stories will look like.
[...] point. The five remaining shops in the Washington area shuttered this week, seemingly for good. I wrote previously about the decades-old local independent book franchise filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as well as [...]