McNally Robinson on Stephen Ave. to close Aug.1

[HotHotHeat]

Too bad, really. My monthly adventures down to this book store will soon end. Easily the best book store in the city. Sad news to hear they won't look for another location. It sounds like the new building owners forced them out.

"It certainly was a space that welcomed authors and welcomed book lovers," she said. "I know from my experience working with publishers in the past what an important part it was in the promotion of their books to have that venue and that space there, so it will be a big loss."

McNally Robinson, which has locations in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and New York City, is opening a store in the Manitoba capital in a few weeks as well as in Toronto next spring.

The Calgary store opened in the Clarence Block building in September 2002. McNally said the building's new owners are looking for a new tenant.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...s.html?ref=rss

What other book stores do people use that aren't Chapters/Indigo?

[Flapper97]

That's too bad. I really enjoyed going to McNally Robinson. I thought they had a great selection of books and a really good atmosphere.

[truth14]

I think the owners of the building were the same owners of the store. Selling out

[peter12]

I like the Owl's Nest and that little bookstore in Kensington. If I can't find a bookstore there, I just order it on Amazon. But, there is nothing like a nice little bookshop on a rainy day. Nothing.

[Claeren]

I don't think they were forced out.

I understood it as they owned the building, which they purchased for very little before the boom as a fixer-upper, and are now able to sell for a massive profit.

So do they run a bookstore in a city with runaway cost pressures and eroding profitability or do they sell the real estate at a massive profit at the peak of the boom and look elsewhere?

I think they timed it just right myself... they even have a chance to buy back in after a few years when the market is more saturated with vancant retail properties and any coolness that Stephen Ave had has officially been killed off by sky-high rents.



Claeren.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Claeren

I don't think they were forced out.

Maybe forced by their accountant, who said "even if you sell books for a thousand years you won't make as much money as you will by selling this building, so I'll force you to do it".

Good for them getting rich but bad for the rest of us. It was the best thing on Stephen Avenue.

Chapters/Indigo in Southcentre is closed too. A clerk told someone I know that the rent was forcing them out.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Maybe forced by their accountant, who said "even if you sell books for a thousand years you won't make as much money as you will by selling this building, so I'll force you to do it".

Good for them getting rich but bad for the rest of us. It was the best thing on Stephen Avenue.

Chapters/Indigo in Southcentre is closed too. A clerk told someone I know that the rent was forcing them out.

Lord knows I've done that before.

[Claeren]

Well considering rent is likely going from ~$5-$10/sq-ft 5-8 years ago to ~$40-$60/sq-ft now, the base price on the properties is likely up by the same margin (8x-12x).


Claeren.

[Ozy_Flame]

Thats a huge loss. I went in there almost every lunchtime for the last six months, this is very upsetting. Another casualty of Calgary's economic boom.

[pope04]

Truly sad news. I've heard a few great speakers down there over the years.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Locke

Lord knows I've done that before.

Okay, it was a lame segue.

Thanks for the input though.

[FireFly]

One of my best friends works there. She's devastated. She loved working there even though it barely paid her rent.

[Kipper is King]

Some people don't even realize chapters, indigo and coles are all the same store! It's almost a monopoly now.

[Hack&Lube]

Nice concept, the bookstore and cafe, etc. thing with the multiple floors. Calgary's boom is doing the exact opposite and killing any culture this pathetic city might have once aspired to have.

[taco.vidal]

Count me in as another person who is upset over this.

Although I order a lot of books online, it was still nice to be able to go to McNally and flip through some books and pick something up at a local store thats not a huge corporate chain.

It also sucks that now the Coles in the mall will be the biggest bookstore downtown - i hate Coles and its cold sterile environment.

The McNally building had an awesome atmosphere for a bookstore.

[Claeren]

I am a little of the loop but there have been persistent rumours of Chapters looking for a location somewhere in the core/beltline. Lots of talk about around Hotel Arts (their podium expansion) or in the renovated Radio Block (That area where the Tazmanian Ball Room and all those bars once were.)

Regardless of whether that is where it happens, i believe it is on Chapters radar.

Perhaps McNallys knew that and they are simply exiting early with a good profit in their pocket?


Claeren.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

The lack of a decent bookstore downtown is a glaring omission. The Coles has a circa 1980 feel to it. I have to think that a Chapters or Indigo is planned for the new Eaton's Center redevelopment.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

The lack of a decent bookstore downtown is a glaring omission. The Coles has a circa 1980 feel to it. I have to think that a Chapters or Indigo is planned for the new Eaton's Center redevelopment.

The bookstores are too busy downtown NOT to have a large bookstore exist. I just think the economics have to work out, like say, a long-term lease at a cheap rate with fixed interest. Who knows.

All I know is that Coles can NOT be the main bookstore downtown; we need a contemporary spot with some cultural flavor. McNally Robinson was the best downtown had.

[Phaneuf3]

Nooooo.

I only found out about this place at christmas. I had walked past it several times but never bothered to go in until I was killing time downtown one day.

[J pold]

Damn Shame