Bold Fork Books, a culinary bookstore in Washington, D.C., will close at the end of September, City Cast DC reported.
"This has been a brutal year for our bookstore," wrote co-owners Clementine Thomas and Sam Vasfi in an announcement posted to Instagram last week. "Business has slowed, costs have gone up, and there's no indication these trendlines will change anytime soon. Like so many of our fellow small businesses, we've tried to come up with solutions, but the fundamentals have become insurmountable."
Located in D.C.'s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, Bold Fork Books first opened in October 2020. It sells new and vintage cookbooks, hosts food- and book-related events, and runs international culinary tours. The store is named after culinary legend M.F.K. Fisher's With Bold Knife and Fork.
"I just thought the idea of Bold Fork was just so evocative of curiosity and tasting, all of things we approach cookbooks with," Thomas told WTOP News around the time of the store's opening.
The bookstore's last day in business will be September 30. Prior to the closure, Vasfi and Thomas plan to host events to commemorate and celebrate both the bookstore and its customers.
"We want to make the most of our last month together, with plenty of opportunities to gather, connect, and celebrate," the owners wrote. "We'll have more to share soon about events and other ways to come together in the weeks ahead.
"At the end of the day, Bold Fork Books is a place: four walls, some shelves, and a whole lot of books. What made it special was you--the people who filled it. Thank you all for the journey of a lifetime."