Steve Rogin, the property owner and landlord for the buildings, who for many years tried to interest the city in preserving the Varsity Theater as a performing arts center, was asked about the situation on Thursday, Dec. So who does that to a small independent business going into the holidays?” And because I had not reached an agreement with him, two days before Thanksgiving he served me with an eviction. And I had been trying to negotiate with him for months. “We don’t have a big wad of cash lying around to handle a rent increase like that. “You know, all bookstores are very low margin,” she said. The average rent in downtown Evanston is $27 per square foot, he reported.īarrett told committee members the rent increase “was not only from the moment we received the letter but he said it was retroactive to five weeks before.” Credit: Bookends & BeginningsĪt the Wednesday meeting, Barrett told committee members that she received notice that the bookstore’s rent would more than double five weeks after a new landlord took possession of the property.Īccording to city Economic Development Manager Paul Zalmezak, the new property owner had proposed raising Barrett’s rent from $8 to $18 per square foot. NIna Barrett opened Bookends & Beginnings in 2014. The bookstore, founded by Evanston author Barrett in 2014, operates in the alley garage space formerly occupied for 40 years by the antiquarian Bookman’s Alley. They plan to develop the property at 1706-10 Sherman Ave. into 35 luxury apartments, which includes the alley that runs parallel to Church Street where Bookends & Beginnings is located. The co-applicants in the development, the Varsity LLC and Campbell Coyle, received special zoning approval from the city earlier this year for an adaptive reuse of the former Varsity Theater. The bookstore’s move was necessary after Barrett was unable to agree on lease terms with the new property owner of Bookman’s Alley, who is planning a development that would include the space. Members of the city’s Economic Development Committee (EDC) voted in favor of recommending that the City Council give $83,000 in financial assistance to the business for relocating from its home of nine years in “Bookman’s Alley,” located off Sherman Avenue north of Church Street.īut committee members balked at granting the full $475,606 request from Bookends & Beginnings’ owner Nina Barrett to cover the costs of relocation and build-out at a new location at 1620 Orrington Ave. Bookends & Beginnings plans to move from Bookman’s Alley, above, to space on Orrington Avenue.
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