For more than two decades, a Great Good Place for Books has been a staple of Oakland\u2019s\u00a0Montclair Village, hosting countless reading groups and author talks. Now, the independent shop is winding down its operations, owner Kathleen Caldwell says. The store\u2019s last day will be in mid-June.<\/p>\n
Caldwell, 62, announced<\/a> in April that she was calling it quits. The reason was financial, Caldwell told SFGATE.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re putting more money in than you\u2019re taking out, you need to really evaluate whether it\u2019s viable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Business had been slowing since last July, Caldwell said, but its prospects really soured in January, when it became apparent that revenue was \u201csignificantly down\u201d from the previous year.\u00a0Montclair Village has been slower than usual, she said, and several stores have shuttered in recent months.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople aren\u2019t shopping, and if they\u2019re not shopping, we can\u2019t justify being open,\u201d Caldwell said.<\/p>\n A Great Good Place for Books is the sort of neighborhood shop that locals visit again and again, year after year. The store\u2019s name is a reference to a book called \u201cThe Great Good Place,\u201d 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 \u201cone of the joys of my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kazuo Ishiguro, the British author of \u201cThe Remains of the Day,\u201d has visited the store for an event, as has former Warriors player (and\u00a0memoirist<\/a>) Andre Iguodala.<\/p>\n In 2005, while Caldwell was working as the store\u2019s event planner, the original owner, Debi Echlin<\/a>, added her to her will. Later that year, Echlin died unexpectedly, and Caldwell took the reins.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been the best thing that ever happened to me,\u201d Caldwell said. \u201cIt was everything I never knew I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n Caldwell isn\u2019t sure of her future plans. After Caldwell announced the store\u2019s closure, her sister started a GoFundMe<\/a> to help cover the owner\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Caldwell expressed gratitude for her customers, who she said made the past 21 years of her life a \u201cmiracle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been so lucky to be a part of this community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n