Writing The Bookstore's closing chapter

WARWICK - The words heard often on Main Street in Warwick in the last week have been tinged first with sadness, then of warning, following the news that The Bookstore will close Aug. 31. “The Bookstore is an institution on Main Street,” said Robert E. Krahulik, president of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce, in an interview. “It is very disappointing to see it go. It’s closing evidences our fragile downtown economy. Can the message be any clearer? This is a wake up call to the community. We need to support our downtown merchants.” “Think how different Warwick, Greenwood Lake or Florida would be with boarded up store fronts and clogged roads leading to the next mega mall,” wrote Warwick Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton in his weekly comments to the media. And Sue Gardner, local history librarian at Albert Wisner Public Library, spoke for many in her letter to The Warwick Advertiser: “This is sad news for our community of readers.” Owner Michael McDermott, who, together with Port of Call co-owner Deborah Blomfield, spearheaded the Warwick Independent Business Alliance (IBA), fell victim to the very pitfalls the organization was formed to avoid. “The simple reality,” McDermott said in an interview this week, “is that many people and organizations in Warwick choose to purchase books elsewhere. We stocked all the best sellers and books that people were buying. But they were not buying them here.” Although McDermott did his best to be competitive, even with the small margins in the retail book business, he found himself up against giant book outlets in the malls as well as the Internet. Considering the costs of travel or shipping, the perception of savings may have been greater than the reality but that did not help The Bookstore. “The past 18 months have been challenging,” he explained. “Any business owner notes sales trends and attempts to understand the factors influencing shifts in their business. I was increasingly aware of a shift occurring. A crossroads was reached that necessitated a difficult decision. The decision was quite obvious though not necessarily easy.” When he first opened his new book and music shop in the Clocktower Building that Memorial Day weekend in 1998, it was named “Notes & Letters.” McDermott had just ended a job as a Boston radio station manager and “Notes and Letters” was an opportunity to not only fulfill a dream of owning his own business, but to return, after 16 years, to Warwick, his home town. In February 2000, the business moved to 20 Main St. and began operating as “The Bookstore,” a simple recognition of what people would call the store regardless of what it was named. But his mission, said McDermott at that time, was to be the best bookseller possible and to use his store as a vessel for positive change. In many ways, The Bookstore fulfilled that mission. It was an anchor in the downtown business community and the many activities, book signings, lectures and other events, all well attended, contributed to the flavor and popularity of the village. The Bookstore became a mecca for day-trippers and local residents alike. It will be sorely missed by its neighbors as well as loyal patrons. “My focus through the end of August,” said McDermott, “is to close this business and exit the downtown business community gracefully. I intend to fulfill my obligations to customers and vendors. I am surrounded by family, both of birth and of love, that support me and I look forward to the next chapter of my life as it is filled with possibilities, new experiences and abundance. As the owner of The Bookstore for the past eight years, there have been incredible moments of validation, frustration, inspiration, shared heartache and connection to wonderful people. I cherish it all. It is now time for me to do something else with my life. And I will while staying in Warwick.” He added that his immediate plans are to paint his house. Until closing, The Bookstore is offering a 25 per cent discount on all inventory. Recently, the shop has been packed with bargain hunters. Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard, himself a small business owner, offered this assessment in a letter to the editor: “A small business, especially a bookstore, becomes entwined in our lives, like family. We anticipate businesses we like to remain forever and it’s frustrating, defeating, to see one leave.”