Amazon Bookstore for sale

According to the Minnesota Women's Press, the Amazon Bookstore cooperative is being put up for sale. The bookstore is the oldest feminist bookstore in North America and has been a worker-owned cooperative for all of its history.

Amazon has struggled in recent years. Kicked out of their Loring Park location, they bought into a space on Chicago Ave in South Minneapolis. They had some financial troubles there with a unanticipated property tax burden and an unsuccessful coffee shop and moved further down the street to their current location at 48th and Chicago. In 1999, they got in a lawsuit with Amazon.com, winning an undisclosed, but apparently not sizable, settlement.

Amazon's current location is on a great corner, near restaurants, a movie theater, and a family-friendly coffee shop. If a neighborhood-based bookstore is going to be successful, I would think this would be an ideal spot.


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The Women's Press quotes longtime employee-owner Barb Wiesner on the financial health of the store:

Although the store hasn't made a profit in a couple of years, said Wieser, "It's in relatively good shape, which is a testament to the generosity of the community, that we've been able to carry on. We have a good location, a good website, a long-term lease," she said, ticking off the positives. "I think the right owners, with some energy and resources, could revitalize the store. There is a lot of good stuff here."

The store is friendly and inviting and has a decent children's section. They sell a limited number of used books and videos in the basement. The basement can be used for book group and other meetings for free. While it is a feminist bookstore with the offers one might guess would go along with that, it is also a general interest bookstore with a broad array of offerings. You can also order just about any book through the store, via their website or in person.

Here's to hoping for some new owners that can keep this neighborhood gem healthy and vibrant. Clearly, some changes may have to be made to make it more profitable. The first thing I would do if I were them would host many more author and other types of events. They do have occasional events, but they have to give people a reason to come to the store with some regularity. This month, singer Ellis will be performing to benefit the store.

I suspect that people who haven't been in the store think that it is probably only feminist books. While I doubt they have Ann Coulter's latest diatribe on display, they have most of the typical selections you'll find in any other bookstore. I suspect the store needs to get the word out more that they are BOTH a wonderful feminist resource AND a valuable, friendly, welcoming neighborhood bookstore.