![]() “Small businesses are getting pushed out by developers who don’t understand the history of the community and frankly don’t care.”īarrett said she’s lucky to have Robinson as her new landlord. “The frustrating thing about (Bookends’) rent increase is it’s not just me,” Barrett said. Kelly and Barrett said they worry rents will continue forcing out small businesses that give downtown Evanston its character. While such a dramatic increase is unusual, she said rising rents are a problem in Evanston as developers buy more retail spaces. Barrett said she’s planning to eventually add a bar, envisioning customers stopping for a beer and a book after work.Īlthough Bookends survived the rent increase, Kelly said not every business can do so. Orrington landlord Lynn Robinson said Bookends kept the building’s original trim from 1927. Sitting in the main window is a horse named Stormy from Navy Pier’s old carousel. “Books have smells in a way that e-books just don’t,” he said, sniffing a copy of Colm Tóibín’s “The Magician.” The smell, in particular, endeared the new location to him. Still, Kleiner said he’s excited by the new store, describing it as more modern and accessible. Jordi Kleiner, who described himself as a regular customer, said he’ll miss the creak of the floors in the old location as he walked through the poetry section. Jordi Kleiner said he was a regular customer at Bookends & Beginnings. Replacing them are big windows and a mural painted by Barrett’s two sons. Gone are the hand-me-down shelves and slanted floors of Bookman’s Alley. Bookends left the old location in January, moving to 1620 Orrington Ave.Ĭustomers at the new location are greeted by a Bookends & Beginnings very much unlike the old one. Just days before Thanksgiving, the developer served an eviction notice to the beloved local bookstore, Ald. After a developer acquired the store’s old Bookman’s Alley location, they more than doubled Barrett’s rent - a price staff said the business could not afford. “I feel like I died and am in heaven.”īut Barrett’s dream started out more like a nightmare. “This is a dream come true,” Barrett said, snapping pictures of the clamoring crowd. Owner Nina Barrett straightened a few final books before swinging the doors open almost 10 minutes early. She serves on the executive board of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) and is a member of the Caxton Club, a Chicago organization dedicated to the appreciation and history of the printed word.As Bookends & Beginnings prepared for its grand re-opening Saturday morning, a line of customers began knocking at its door. You can find out more about the book by visiting Nina is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, a global professional association for women leaders in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries, and has served several times as a judge of the James Beard Awards for cookbooks. In July of 2018, Nina published The Leopold and Loeb Files: An Intimate Look at One of America's Most Infamous Crimes (Agate Publishing), a book that was praised by Rick Kogan in the Chicago Tribune for its "astonishing and compelling detail." Nina often gives talks about the case and its ongoing relevance and fascination to a 21st-century audience. Jeff's early involvement with the store is reflected in its unique collection of children's books in 48 foreign languages, including Kurdish, Maori, and Basque. In 2017, Jeff returned to librarianship and library consulting. Nina opened Bookends & Beginnings in June of 2014 with the help of her husband Jeff Garrett, an internationally recognized expert on rare and specialized library collections, as well as global children's literature. Her “Fear of Frying”series for Chicago NPR affiliate WBEZ earned three James Beard Award nominations and two actual awards, in 20. When she briefly tried to escape the world of words by getting a professional chef’s degree in 2007, she still wound up as a food reporter. ![]() She published three books with Simon & Schuster, the first of which- I Wish Someone Had Told Me: A Realistic Guide to Early Motherhood-remains in print with Chicago Review Press. ![]() During the period when two large chain bookstores faced off downtown, Nina was raising two children and freelancing articles, essays, and reviews to Chicago and national publications. Bookends & Beginnings is the independent bookstore Nina Barrett has dreamed of opening since she moved to Evanston in the late 1980s, but for a while both she and Evanston went in other directions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |