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The bookstore boasts a wide selection of books, in English, French and many other languages. You might think this would be messy, however the books are carefully organised by the meticulous staff according to subject and genre across the two rooms. Tucked in the nooks and crannies of the school’s ancient bomb bunker are scores of books: fiction, non-fiction, biographies, cookbooks, textbooks and story books. The Book Cellar has now been running for many years, under the careful care and supervision of LGB parents and PTA alike. "Then you have empty storefronts.Hidden away under LGB’s very own primary school is the bookstore of your dreams. "You can't just look and see what you like and then buy online," Takacs said. Too often, customers treat brick-and-mortar shops - be it a bookstore, toy store or wine shop - like showrooms, she said. "The best way to keep them is to buy from them." "If we as a community value small businesses, we have to make an effort to patronize and not mourn them," O'Connor said. Referencing the recently shuttered Swedish Bakery in Andersonville, O'Connor urged people to spend their dollars locally. Pulling business onto Lawrence should ease the pressure on Lincoln Avenue storefronts and stabilize rents, which have been skyrocketing, Pawar said. Now we haven't gone out at all," he said.Ī number of pending mixed-use developments on Lawrence Avenue are aimed not only at increasing density - more people living in Lincoln Square means more people eating and shopping in Lincoln Square - but at adding to the available inventory of commercial properties. "If it's just young families like us, who's going to go to bars and restaurants and shops?"Ĭomparing his credit card statements before and after baby, "We'd go out a couple of times a week. "I use myself as an example," said Pawar, who has a 1-year-old daughter. Pawar stressed the need for a diverse population - not just young families - to support the area's retailers and restaurants. "It takes a lot of extra work just to meet basic bills," Takacs said.Īldermen Pat O'Connor (40th) and Ameya Pawar (47th), whose wards share Lincoln Square, addressed the precariousness of the neighborhood's small businesses at a recent community forum. And next week the Book Cellar will be encroaching on Amazon Books' territory as part of Augusten Burroughs' appearance at the Music Box Theatre. In March alone, the Book Cellar provided the books sold at author readings and signings at Chess Records, the Harold Washington Library, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Radisson Blu Aqua, and a day-long gathering of mystery/crime writers at Roosevelt University.Ĭoming up: an event at Uptown's Everybody's Coffee with "Divergent" author Veronica Roth.
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Some weeks, Takacs rarely steps foot in the Book Cellar because she's working off-site events. "The people who work here are brilliant readers," Takacs said.Īnd she'll also keep on hustling. Takacs also places a great deal of stock in her staff members and their ability to recommend books customers would like. "I think we have a very unique, curated inventory," she said, as opposed to Amazon Book's data-driven model of bestsellers. Knowing she can't compete on price - though she can on convenience, with an online ordering cart - Takacs said the Book Cellar will continue to differentiate itself in other ways. "I see Amazon as diluting our volume," she said.
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This group of paper-loving stalwarts is finite and not likely to expand just because there are more bookstores, Takacs believes. With its deep discounts and e-books, Amazon's online site has already siphoned off a significant portion of Takacs' customer base, and now she is worried Amazon Books will eat away at the remaining readers who still prefer to physically shop for physical books. "No, I'm not OK," said Suzy Takacs, owner of the Book Cellar, 4736 N. LINCOLN SQUARE - A store opening on Southport doesn't typically phase retailers in Lincoln Square, but when the newcomer to Lakeview is the city's first brick-and-mortar Amazon Books, the tremors were felt by indie bookstore owners across the North Side.