Luer to Close Faybles Bookshop
by July 22, 2002 12:00 am 76 views
Ann Luer said she plans to close her bookshop in Fayetteville by mid-September. She opened Faybles two years ago in The Laundry Building on West Avenue, a block north of the city’s Dickson Street entertainment district.
Luer said location and competition were factors in her decision.
“I think Dickson Street now is just bars and restaurants — entertainment,” she said. “It’s not like a shopping destination for people.”
Luer said there were other factors that make it difficult for an independent bookseller to survive. Online book shopping has increased, and national-chain bookstores such as Barnes & Noble have buying leverage because of their size.
“They don’t have to pay for their books until they sell them,” she said. “I have to pay for mine when I order them.”
The 1,800-SF bookshop also contained a coffee shop that seats about 25 and doubled as a Internet cafe.
When Faybles closes, the only bookshops left in downtown Fayetteville will be the Dickson Street Bookshop, which sells only used books, and the Campus Book Store, which sells textbooks.