Laurie's Books, located at 1678 Beavercreek Rd., Ste. T, in Oregon City, Ore., is closing and will be holding a liquidation sale of all inventory and fixtures through Portland Book Week, which ends June 14.
In a social media post, owner Rekha Burns noted: "We thought maybe by converting to nonprofit, we could keep the store open but a few days ago we got another increase in our rent. Due to increasing operating costs, we've made the difficult decision to wind down operations.... We're grateful for the community's support over the years and hope to see you one last time. Thank you for being part of our story."
Burns told the Clackamas Print that she came to the U.S. in her late 20s after spending years helping vulnerable children in her native India. Owning a bookstore had been a lifelong dream. "I feel terrible," she said. "The store survived Covid-19 but I'm not able to save it."
Burns and her husband, Louis Burns, had started fundraising, even creating a nonprofit Oregon City Literary Community, with the hope of selling the store in a way that wouldn't sacrifice the community's third place, the Clackamas Print wrote, adding that they "had big dreams for the store, including a coffee stand inside. But, these dreams were cut short."