"OK, bookstore loving friends, here is the truth: At a certain point, buying books from the store you love is not going to be enough to keep it open," Lexi Beach, co-owner of Astoria Bookshop in Queens, N.Y., declared to open a Twitter thread on Tuesday. Electric Lit noted that in the thread she "went on to explain that the bigger problem lies in the relationship between capitalism, the commercial real estate market, and the toxic marriage between the two for low-margin businesses like bookstores." You can read the whole thread here. Among the highlights:
- "My idea is that landlords who rent to locally owned, independent business should get a real estate tax break. My occupancy costs went up 7% year one because of a real estate tax assessment after I opened."
- "Things are probably different in smaller municipalities. I hear from business owners who have wrangled good lease agreements by becoming friends with their landlords. That's not generally possible in NYC."
- "My real hope is that municipalities that enjoy having vibrant downtown areas can implement public policy solutions that support small business brick & mortar shops. Letting the real estate industry dictate who can afford to rent a storefront is not sustainable for communities."
Beach told Electric Lit: "I've worked in the book industry for a long time, beginning with a job coordinating author tours at Simon & Schuster, where I was in regular touch with booksellers and events coordinators at bookstores around the country. I've watched the landscape for brick and mortar stores change dramatically, a few times over, since 2003. I've always known that it's not a business you get in to make a ton of money." She added that she didn't fully understand the calculations that go into the bookselling game until opening her business in 2013.
"Has minimum wage gone up? Yes. Does my rent go up regularly? Yes," said Beach. "But I'm part of so many networks of smart people (the American Booksellers Association, Shop Small Astoria, the amazing community of NYC booksellers) who all face overlapping problems. There are solutions to all the questions we have and we'll find them."