Bookie's bookstore, the only indie in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago's Far Southwest Side, is facing an uncertain future due to declining sales. Block Club Chicago reported that last week, owner Keith Lewis posted a photo on social media "detailing the last three months of Bookie's book sales, all of which were well below the number he says the store needs to sell [2,485] each month for Bookie's to stay open in Beverly."
"A bookstore that's one of the only bookstores in a neighborhood should never be empty," he said "And we're empty a lot. A lot. I mean, there are times when there's nobody for hours." He described the social media post as "a little visual reminder that nothing should be taken for granted. We're consistently lagging behind our monthly necessity, and only you can help."
Lewis added that if the trend continues like this, he is not sure Bookie's will make it, but he is fighting to keep the doors open. Bookie's has been in Beverly for 35 years.
"The thing about having a bookstore in this neighborhood is that it's not as walkable as a lot of North Side neighborhoods. There aren't tourists coming down here, for the most part," he said. "So we rely utterly on the business provided by people shopping, and it's just so much competition."
Some days when looking at his empty bookstore, Lewis said he can see an end to his tenure as a bookseller: "The truth is, a smarter person than me would have closed down years ago. [But] I wouldn't live in a neighborhood without a bookstore. I really won't."