Close on the heels of this week’s announcement from Globe Corner Bookstore that it will close its bricks-and-mortar bookstore in Harvard Square, Cambridge, comes word that children’s specialty store Curious George & Friends will also shut its doors this month. The book and toy store, located just a few blocks from Globe Corner, was founded by Hillel Stavis and Donna Friedman in 1995 and named for the mischievous monkey created by their friends and neighbors Margret and Hans Rey.
In mid-May, Stavis and Friedman appealed to the Cambridge City Council for help. The store was forced to give up part of its basement, which it used for overstock, offices, and the store’s only bathroom, and rent additional space because of the city’s sidewalk renovation project in the Square. According to the Cambridge Chronicle, Stavis and Friedman told the Council that they needed $200,000 in donations to continue to operate the store and would extend its mission to create a museum to commemorate Curious George and the Reys.
Stavis and Friedman closed Harvard Square’s iconic WordsWorth Books in 2004 after their bookstore business filed for bankruptcy. Stavis also co-founded the bookstore POS system WordStock, which was based on buying needs at WordsWorth.
