With its building on the market, Three Lives & Company in New York City’s West Village may have to find a new home. The store, which has long been in the building on West Tenth and Waverly, is now uncertain whether it can remains in its current location.
On Wednesday, in a letter to customers about the pending sale of its building, current bookstore owner Toby Cox emphasized that the store is thriving and has done record business for the last three years. “This is not about a small, independent bookshop being battered by chain retailers, or online retail conglomerates, or new electronic devices on which to read a book,” he wrote.
Instead, Cox wanted to alert customers that the bookstore is now operating on a month-to-month lease. If the new building owner doesn’t offer Three Lives a lease, the store is prepared to move. It is currently at its second address, having opened on the corner of West Tenth and Seventh Avenue.
In the meantime, Cox noted that it’s “business as usual” at Three Lives. He’s looking forward to new books from Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Foer, Michael Chabon, Ann Patchett, and others.
