A beloved Montclair business is closing its doors. A Great Good Place for Books has been operating at 6120 La Salle Ave. in the Oakland hills for more than two decades under the guidance of Kathleen Caldwell, who inherited the shop in 2005 from its previous owner, Debi Echlin. Now is an emotional time for Caldwell, who’s been reflecting on her life at the shop and how it changed everything.
Kathleen Caldwell, who owns the Oakland hills’ Montclair Village store A Great Good Place for Books, says she has made the difficult decision to close her shop after more than 20 years. (Ginny Prior for Bay Area News Group)
“It was an amazing run, and I’m so lucky that I got to do this. It was everything I never knew I wanted,” she quips.
Caldwell transformed the small, independent Montclair Village bookstore into a community center, hosting regular author events and building a fan base of readers who were loyal to the shop, but she says foot traffic never recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic and that keeping the business open Is no longer financially feasible.
“The Village is not as vibrant as it was prior to COVID,” she says. “When you’re putting more money in than you’re taking out, it’s time to go.”
Caldwell adds that she’ll miss her customers and the friends she’s made, many of them who have grown up reading books from her shop. The decision comes at a time when several Village shops are empty. Just a few doors down, another Montclair staple has been liquidating its assets in what’s been a long goodbye for the clothing store Hula.
Caldwell says she doesn’t plan to draw out her closure, noting that she’d like to be out by July 1. Until then, look for a couple more events at A Great Good Place for Books, including a storytime offering and a farewell party.
Game night: Rockridge restaurant Belly is attracting customers with its weekly Mahjong Night. Owner Alice Woo says she has played Hong Kong-style Mahjong for more than 20 years.
“The game has been woven into my life for as long as I can remember,” she says, adding that she thought the game would be fun for her customers to play but wasn’t sure how it would be received. “I honestly didn’t think anyone was going to show up — I was going to make all our employees come play,” she says.
The restaurant at 5634 College Ave. offers Mahjong for all skill levels every Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m.
Bee haven: The Public Market Emeryville plaza has a surprising tenant — honey bees. The urban bee-keeping company Alvéole maintains a hive with 5,000 to 10,000 bees in the food hall’s parking lot. Alvéole has partnerships with several commercial buildings in Oakland and Emeryville to promote pollination, biodiversity and raise awareness about bees.
Public Market Emeryville also gets roughly 100 jars of honey to share with its almost 20 popular diverse food vendors, some of which include Oakland-based Tease Southern Kitchen, known for its Southern surf ‘n’ turf po’ boy — an elevated fried chicken sandwich topped with garlic-butter lobster and homemade slaw. Also, Mr. Dewie’s sells its popular cashew ice cream at the market, in addition to its shop on Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue.
Book the date: The Montclair Library has restarted its speakers series, and local author Anita Gail Jones will discuss her book entitled “The Peach Seed” at 6 p.m. June 3.
The story traces one Georgia family’s history from the era of slavery to the civil rights movement through a carved peach seed. The book is described as a parable of how a glimmer of hope as small as a seed can ripple across generations. The event is free and sponsored by the group Friends of the Montclair Library.
Ginny Prior can be reached at ginnyprior@hotmail.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.