Losing Neighbors
Whether you are a Tahoe local or a visitor to our neck of the woods, if you're a supporter of independent bookstores, you'll be bummed out at the following news.
My friend Nancy Oliver Hayden, Community Editor at the Tahoe Daily Tribune, reports that Neighbors Bookstore in the Crescent V Center (or what they're calling the Village Center now, I guess) is going out of business.
They'll have a farewell party this Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m., with a special performance by Dream Spirit Baroque Band from 2 to 4 p.m.
It happens, I guess, but it's too bad. When I edited the entertainment magazine for the Tribune, Neighbors showed up in the listings quite a bit, with live music performances by Dream Spirit, or special release parties for books like Harry Potter, or whatever. If they didn't have a book in stock that you were looking for, they'd jump right on ordering it for you. They were a nice, solid part of the community, and hey, a bookstore is an asset to ANYPLACE.
But I guess we should have seen it coming. I worked part-time for an independent bookstore over on the Nevada side at Zephyr Cove way back when. But there's got to be enough revenue to at least pay the rent (which can get pretty pricey for retail storefront in a resort area like Tahoe), and there would be times when I'd go an entire shift without anyone buying a book. And it's not like the store was a hole-in-the-wall: it was a nice, upscale place in the new (and only) shopping center at Z.C. But it's been long shut down now, and you might be hard-pressed to find anyone around who would even remember its name (which was Treasures, btw.)
So if you want to say good-bye to Neighbors, swing in on Saturday. And tell 'em Keith sent you.
More info available at www.tahoedailytribune.com
