Micawber's Books, St. Paul, Minn., will be closing later this spring, in part due to an injury to owner Tom Bielenberg. The Star Tribune reported that "black ice accomplished what years of online and big box competition couldn't" when Bielenberg slipped and fell March 3, "breaking a hip, two ribs and dislocating a couple of bones in his back." A convalescence of at least three months is expected, and Bielenberg made the decision to close his St. Anthony Park neighborhood bookshop permanently following a truncated store schedule this week and a final closing sale in April.
"It is with heavy hearts that we're writing to you to let you know that Micawber's Books will be closing its doors permanently," an e-mail to customers said. "Due to this accident, Tom will be closing Micawber's." His family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical expenses.
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| Tom Bielenberg | |
The bookshop "had been a neighborhood fixture ever since Norton Stillman founded the store in 1972," the Star Tribune wrote, adding that Stillman sold the shop in 2003 to Bielenberg and Hans Weyandt, now the manager at Milkweed Books in Minneapolis. Micawber's relocated to its current location in 2016 to lower overhead and improve the bottom line.
Jon Schumacher, executive director of the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation, said Bielenberg is "a quiet guy but has a fierce love of literature" whose store proved a perfect match for a neighborhood passionate about the written word. "It really is kind of a sad way to end things. Micawber's was really kind of a holdout, a throwback. And there was a loyalty to Tom because of who he is. We wish him a speedy recovery."
Bielenberg told the Pioneer Press that while people have volunteered to help keep the store open, "that's more than I can imagine. As the days go on--I've been here for a week now--I'm realizing it's a long haul. I can't just not take in money for three or four months. People volunteering is great, but it would be hard to put together."
Regarding his long career as a bookseller, which began at Hungry Mind bookstore and then Ruminator Books, he added: "It's one of those things where you are going to grad school, and you're working part-time, and before you know it, you've been in the book business all your life. But I always loved it. I never got tired of opening the book boxes.... We always knew that we wouldn't be as big as the big-box stores, but still, as late as last week, someone came in and said they liked the selection. That's the best compliment I can get, because I know I'm not going to have everything."