Sad about the closing of Food for Thought in Amherst, Mass. Please shop your local independent bookstore before you no longer have the chance...... Food For Thought Books June 2, 2014 Good peoples, We are writing with hard news. Despite our best efforts, Food For Thought Books has been forced to close its doors. We can no longer keep the store open. When our fundraiser this past December reached its goal we had high hopes of keeping the store running through our 38th year. We did everything we could think of to move the store into a sustainable direction. We slashed every expense down to its bare minimum. We diversified our stock and reduced prices on everything in the store. We consulted and collaborated with financial experts, community organizers, local university groups, and more. Despite all this, we have seen our financial situation once again deteriorate. One significant factor in all this was that a line of credit we were pursuing never came together for a variety of reasons. This was a key element in our plan to manage and consolidate our debts. When it did not materialize, our options became severely reduced. More significantly: Book sales since we re-opened in our downsized space have been marginal at best. We at first hoped this had mostly to do with the bitterly cold winter and crossed our fingers that things would pick up come spring. Unfortunately, instead of picking up, they kept getting worse. We dropped our prices - to below even Amazon - we engaged in all manner of traditional and new media to get the word out, organized all manner of well-attended events - despite all this, sales just continued to drop. We have now not been able to make rent or payroll for more than a month. Most of our valiant volunteer brigade have now left for the summer. Neither of the two part-time workers left can afford any longer to work for free and have been forced to seek other employment due to financial hardship. We have consulted with financial experts and legal counsel and have been advised to close the store and dissolve the business. This was a very difficult decision to make and we very much wish we didnt have to make it. To everyone who bought books, who donated books, who donated funds large and small, who consigned books and cool stuff, who came to do a reading or an event, who stopped in to visit and offer kind words of support or advice, who was in any way part of this collective project - thank you so very much! Special shout out of immense gratitude and love for our Valiant Volunteer Brigade. We truly wouldnt have made it through the past years without their amazing and generous support. We would also like to express our gratitude to our landlord, Barry Roberts, who has been very supportive and understanding throughout all this. And too: thank you to the folks at All Things Local - youve been the definition of a good neighbor. Farewell, good peoples. We will miss you. Best of luck in all your endeavors. Sincerely, Matthew & Katherine Food For Thought Books Collective
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 15:05:28 +0000
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