For more than two decades, a Great Good Place for Books has been a staple of Oakland’s Montclair Village, hosting countless reading groups and author talks. Now, the independent shop is winding down its operations, owner Kathleen Caldwell says. The store’s last day will be in mid-June.
Caldwell, 62, announced in April that she was calling it quits. The reason was financial, Caldwell told SFGATE.
“When you’re putting more money in than you’re taking out, you need to really evaluate whether it’s viable,” she said.
Business had been slowing since last July, Caldwell said, but its prospects really soured in January, when it became apparent that revenue was “significantly down” from the previous year. Montclair Village has been slower than usual, she said, and several stores have shuttered in recent months.
“People aren’t shopping, and if they’re not shopping, we can’t justify being open,” Caldwell said.
A Great Good Place for Books is the sort of neighborhood shop that locals visit again and again, year after year. The store’s name is a reference to a book called “The Great Good Place,” a study of third places by the sociologist Ray Oldenburg. Caldwell, who has owned A Great Good Place for two decades, described running the store as “one of the joys of my life.”
The store has been a staple of Oakland’s Montclair Village. (Mike C/Song K via Yelp)
Kazuo Ishiguro, the British author of “The Remains of the Day,” has visited the store for an event, as has former Warriors player (and memoirist) Andre Iguodala.
In 2005, while Caldwell was working as the store’s event planner, the original owner, Debi Echlin, added her to her will. Later that year, Echlin died unexpectedly, and Caldwell took the reins.
“This has been the best thing that ever happened to me,” Caldwell said. “It was everything I never knew I wanted.”
Caldwell isn’t sure of her future plans. After Caldwell announced the store’s closure, her sister started a GoFundMe to help cover the owner’s living expenses while she waits for her applications for Social Security and disability payments to be approved. At the time of writing, the GoFundMe has raised more than $29,000 of its $35,000 goal.
Caldwell expressed gratitude for her customers, who she said made the past 21 years of her life a “miracle.”
“I’ve been so lucky to be a part of this community,” she said.
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This article originally published at Oakland bookstore to close after more than 2 decades.