Bookstores are on the move in Alabama, Mississippi, and New Jersey; a bookstore gets a new life in Tampa; a Bronx bookseller’s business plan is named one of the best in the city; and more.
Couple Debut Store in Tampa: Gigi Best-Richardson and her husband, Harry, Richardson, opened Best Books & Rich Treasures, a new, used, and antiquarian bookstore that specializes in books on the African diaspora. The store is located across from Hillsborough Community College in the Historic Ybor neighborhood. The couple first opened BB&RT in Virginia Beach, Va., in 1997. As a military family, they have moved the store to four cities and two different countries over the intervening years before coming to Tampa. Late last week they celebrated the store’s new location, which is near MacDill Air Force Base.
Ledgewood, N.J., B&N to Be Bulldozed—and Relocated: As part of the transformation of the Ledgewood mall into the Ledgewood Commons, the new mall owner plans to demolish part of the shopping center where Barnes & Noble is currently located. The bookstore will move to the site of the Sports Authority.
Birmingham’s Little Professor to Move:The bookstore is looking for a space to accommodate both it and the Crape Myrtle Café after they were forced to move because of the sale of their building.
Bronx Bookstore Wins NYPL Start Up Competition: Noëlle Santos won second place and a cash prize of $7,500 in the New York Public Library’s annual business plan competition for her plan for The Lit. Bar, a bookstore/wine bar opening in the Bronx. She plans to use part of the money to open pop-up shops while she continues to scout for a permanent location.
New Page for Sage Coffee Books: The Mississippi bookstore, modeled after owner Lara Hammond’s favorite LA bookseller, The Bodhi Tree, relocated from Meridian to Starksville last month. In addition to books, the store sells work from local artist Paul Buckley and vinyl.
Amazon to Start Collecting Sales Tax in D.C.: Beginning October 1, Amazon will collect 5.75% sales tax in Washington. It already collects sales tax in neighboring Maryland and Virginia.
Detroit’s Oldest Bookstore to Close: After 80 years, the Big Bookstore will shut its doors. As the Midtown neighborhood (next to Wayne State) has changed, the used bookstore has not made accommodations to changing times—no coffee, Wi-Fi, website, or greeting cards. “You get to a point when you’re in hospice and you know you’re not getting out,” bookstore owner John King told the Detroit Free Press. His other stores, the four-story used and rare bookstore west of downtown, which is Michigan’s largest used bookstore, and a smaller John K. King used store, will remain open.
