Updated 8:20: Downtown bookworms are losing a favorite shop.
This will be the final summer for the Strand Book Annex at 95 Fulton St., the younger, smaller cousin to the Strand Book Store at Broadway and 12th Street.
The Annex, purveyor of discounted books both new and used, has been at its current location for 12 years. But store owner Fred Bass says that recent construction in the area has decreased customer traffic and lowered profits.
“We were doing very well with that store, and then they started the construction, which really hurt our sales,” Bass said. “The lease was up, and of course the landlord wanted the normal increase. But we figured the construction will last at least another year, and we just felt that it wasn’t viable to do that.”
The Annex currently houses 15,000 square feet of books, and Bass said employees will be selling as many as they can and moving the rest to the Broadway store. Starting June 30, all books will be 20% off, and the Annex is promising additional surprises to shoppers as well.
There is hope for another Annex in the future, Bass said.
“As time goes on, we’ll have to figure something else out,” he said. “We’ll close it, and when an opportunity comes up again, we’ll think about expanding.”
In the meantime, the Broadway store and two Central Park Strand kiosks are standing strong, Bass said. He added that no employees will be laid off in the closing and can all be absorbed by the other locations.
-- Megan Stride
Strand Book Annex
95 Fulton St.
212-732-6070
Mon-Fri, 9:30-9:00
Sat-Sun 11:00-8:00
Photo via AuntLN on Flickr