Greenlight Bookstore Location Revealed!
After much build-up (including a party and much press), the little-bookstore-that-could officially has a home. And what a home it is! The former Nationwide Insurance storefront at 686 Fulton Street at the corner of South Portland Avenue in Fort Greene is 2,000 square feet large with charming old-school windows and tons of street frontage. The…
After much build-up (including a party and much press), the little-bookstore-that-could officially has a home. And what a home it is! The former Nationwide Insurance storefront at 686 Fulton Street at the corner of South Portland Avenue in Fort Greene is 2,000 square feet large with charming old-school windows and tons of street frontage. The owners think they may be able to open as early as September. Shop locally, peeps!
The Big Announcement: Greenlight Is Go! [A Store in Brooklyn] GMAP
Heather, you really burn them? my wife’s books were piling up and we started donating them to the public library.
Now that book store is crossed off list of missing shops that one expects from a prime BK hood, how about a big bakery with seating, massive selection, & decent prices (no, all items shouldn’t be over 2.50 each)?
I would love to support a local bookstore. I can’t wait for this to open! And so close to where I live!
I burn them, more4less. Or I arrange them by color and size on my billy bookcases and send the pictures to apartment therapy.
http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/jobs/benefits/benefits.html
I’m sure there are limitations on their health insurance and who gets it, but it would be hard for an independent to match. Impossible, probably.
Thanks for getting actual salaries. I was pulling those numbers out of my very outdated information based on friends who worked in indy bookstores in the 90’s. That’s how much they made then. It must be said that many of them did not “need” to work.
I think the publishing industry is actually healthier than it was. Costs are way down for production and the process is much more streamlined. Distribution and marketing with the internet are insane. It’s actually possible for a small publisher to get national exposure… ahem, those of them that are left, which — I don’t know how many actually are. But people are reading, and people are talking about books and whether it appeals to your aesthetic or not, the majority of those books were bought at one of the chains…
(And are the exact same books sold at the independents. Except more.)
Heather, what do you do with all your books? 4 per wk sounds like a lot for this super infrequent reader.
Thank you brooklynfamily for some better info.
I’m sure this store will be highly involved with the community with kids’ activities, reading group, food and drinks, lots of author readings.
If anything, I’m sure it will be much better than any chain store could be.
Why should anyone make an assumption that Greenlight will pay $8/hr? I’m also a little curious where the $12/hr figure comes from…
Look, I’m not sure you could manage that well in NYC on either hourly wage.
Not to make a further assumption, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a local bookstore pays competitive wages, no?
Heather, I think I know what you mean but I just wanted to point out that the owner does mention on her blog her interest in paying her staff a “living wage”. I don’t think that Barnes and Noble or Borders staff are actually payed all that well. I just googled “starting pay at Barnes and Noble” and it looks like they generally pay just a tiny bit above minimum wage, which is $7.15/hour in New York. So I don’t think assuming the big name stores pay better is always correct.
And the publishing industry is hardly “healthy”! I actually take the opposite point of view about big name stores – the lack of selection at the big stores, discount chains, etc., are all contributing to the failure of the industry. In Germany and France, for example, it is illegal to discount books in the interest of protecting the small publishing houses and small bookstores, as well as the promotion of a variety of publications.
It won’t be easy for an independent bookstore to tackle that much square footage, in this location, in this period of struggle for all bookstores, large and small. They’d be well-served to have a sharp, targeted marketing strategy, or you’ll soon see that space empty again.