The New England Mobile Book Fair, a Newton treasure, is need of a new, smaller, less-expensive, location or will be forced to stop operating, the Boston Globe reports.
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…the book business being what it is in the age of Amazon.com — i.e., not very good — time has come for New England Mobile Book Fair to make a change, and fast. Owner Tom Lyons, who bought the much-loved literary landmark in Newton Highlands five years ago, says he’s looking to move out of the sprawling space on Needham Street as soon as possible — the lease is up at the end of the month — and into something significantly smaller.
This news doesn’t surprise me but it makes me very sad. The New England Mobile Book Fair is one of the reasons I moved to Newton! I’ll miss it very much.
Please come to Newtonville! I’m serious – there is some retail space and I’d like to help any search.
I grew up wandering the endless shelves of books… my heart breaks.
There are a number of ‘home industry’ book vendors in Newton who have adapted in the past to the changing economic times by utilizing previously affordable storage space. As these affordable storage sites disappear to savvy developers, an increased demand affects public perception. The idea of retail ‘walk-in’ book browsing has been replaced by the internet, furthering need and function for places like the public library. The future developer of 82 Needham St. would be wise to quid pro quo funds toward the Newton Free Library.
A sad day . . . . I wonder why this waited? One week until the end of the month? He expects to find a new location and pack and move in a week? Is that realistic?
Our family used to go there to shop and browse. The cookbook selection (other than the new release shelves) were a disaster and not well stocked. When a friend would recommend a cookbook, I would rush over, and find out that they had no copies, but I could order it. . . . . over and over again. I am willing to do that on occasion, but the last five times I was there for a non new release cookbook or childrens book I was going to have to order it. Sometimes I did, and sometimes I did not. I tried to be a loyal customer, but I wonder how serious he is about finding a new space with one week left.
If he doesn’t find new space by March 31 what happens?
The larger question… What’s going to happen to the property?
When I moved to Newton in 1972,
the mobile book fair was one of the few businesses on Needham St.
Callahans steak house, Collins bar, Mary Ann’s sub and the concrete cylinder company next to Macs, which wasn’t even built until 77-78 were a few of the others. It has been an important, integral part of the city for decades. I can’t imagine how valuable the property it sits on is.
The site is still owned by the founders of the bookstore. a few year after the patriarch died the family sold to Mr. Lyons. They are still the landlords and own the location.
I was born and raised in the Newton neighborhood where the former owners llived; and I knew them all well — mainly because I worked at the Book Fair from 1974 through 1982. My guess is that the Book Fair business model just doesn’t work anymore, since most independent bookstores are gone, and since most schools and libraries probably buy their books from Amazon or directly from the publishers. Coupled with the trend away from paper books, there just isn’t that much of a need, anymore, for a book wholesaler open to the public.
I’m jealous of the fact that Boston village centers have Main Street staff to fill their vacancies. Our Economic Development Coordinators’ position has been vacant since Nancy Hyde left.
Couldn’t the members of the Economic Development Commission stepped in to find space to keep this “hidden gem’ of the Innovation District in the city?
I gather the long vacant Newbury Comics space isn’t available, but what about the vacant Chestnut Street frontage next to the Echo Bridge Antiques Mall? There used to be a secondhand book store in the Echo Bridge Office Center courtyard. Is that space still available?
What about the office building on Oak Street next to the Upper Falls Greenway? It has a sign advertising available space. It’s on MBTA Bus Route 59 and adjacent to the Depot coffee shop, the Biltmore cafe , and the new brick oven pizza shop. Dunn Gaherin’s and the Echo Bridge restaurant are nearby as is the Upper Falls Post Office. I believe this space was built using funding associated with the Pettee Square Commercial Area Revitalization District.
City Councilor Brian Yates
Brian, as you know from my conversations with you for over 27 years, we have a huge parking problem in Pettee Square and the surrounding side streets. The office building on Oak Street would not be a great space for NEMBF. Where would you propose the customers park while they are shopping? We do use the 59 bus all the time, but it runs from Needham to Watertown, and not on any regular basis so I don’t see it as a major means of getting to the office building on Oak and Chestnut. I wish we had more pedestrians, but in order for Tom Lyons to earn a living, he will need parking for the customers who shop at his new location.
Maybe he should set up shop in the soon to be vacated Radio Shack as a temporary station until he finds a permanent home.
Brian,
You also know from serving on the EDC yourself that it is an advisory body, and not a substitute for having City Staff able to act as an agent for the city in trying to act as a matchmaker/broker for a business. We need the currently vacant Economic Development planning position filled.
(That having been said, can anyone from EDC pipe up on your thoughts for this part of the City? Also, is there any movement on getting the staff position filled?)
The EDC did discuss the NEMBC but there was little we could do, as we are purely advisory. I know that many of the locations Councilor Yates mentioned were also considered but didn’t work out for one reason or another.
@Jake raises a point that we did, in fact, discuss in the EDC meetings. That is: is there a mechanism in which the village centers can help attract certain types of businesses that would act as amenities, and what financial support could be in place to help those businesses afford rent?
As for Needham Street itself (and the N-Squared Innovation District): yes there are empty storefronts. But this is also an area undergoing major change. The street itself is going to be rebuilt, housing is proposed for a major parcel and there are changes happening daily just over the river in Needham.
Newton Nexus is scheduled to open this summer (Boston Ballet’s space is coming along), Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza just opened (with a cool bar) and I saw Farm Grille Rotisserie had a petition on the front counter for a full bar.
Jo Louise.
As near as I can tell, the office building on Oak Street has a parking lot to the rear that could meet its needs. The Chestnut Street parking next to the Greenway looks like it has spaces available, and the massive parking lot for the CVS/Marshall’s plaza is not that far away.
The parking problem in the Indiana Terrace area seems to be one of all day parkers who work in the Gamewell Complex who won’t pay for all day parking across the street. The Oak Street building has had a sign up for months, if not years. advertising 3,000 -11,000 square feet available for lease.
Chris I’m quite aware of the advisory nature of the Economic Development Commission on which we both served at different times. Advice on how to save ‘a hidden gem” as Gail described it in an article reproduced on the N2 website would be extremely valuable.
I absolutely agree that the Economic Development Coordinator’s position should have been filled long since. It seems to me that city resident John Sisson who was a controversial appointee to the Historic Commission would be an excellent candidate for the position since he does the same type of work for the town of Dedham. Has the EDC or the HR Department reached out to him? He’s also famialar with the principles of the Main Street Program. It’s very frustrating that the Roslindale and West Roxbury Main Street Programs are actively recruiting the Book Fair for their business areas.