Business may be booming at Elliott Bay Book Co. but it hasn’t been strong enough to keep Spine and Crown from leaving E Pine. The “for lease” sign is up but owner Kris Minta tells CHS Spine and Crown isn’t going out of business. only leaving the 413 E Pine location behind. No details yet but, as we’ve seen lately, independent Hill retail is a fragile animal. That’s nothing Minta didn’t already know, by the way — CHS spoke to him about the state of the industry back in February as Elliott Bay was moving to Capitol Hill. Here’s one clip from the interview:
You might keep an eye on http://spineandcrown.blogspot.com/ for more details.
Here’s three, if he stays on the hill:
1. Moving into the space previously occupied by Anne Bonny.
2. Moving into The Alley (Pilot Books for company)
3. Moving into the odd corner office kitty corner from the precinct station. (The rest of the building is apartments.)
This is sad news. Spine and Crown is my favorite used bookstore. I hope he finds a good spot.
The Alley would be great–would help Pilot as well I think. Hopefully not the old Anne Bonny Space (Mercer and Summit?)–too far out of the way. The charm of S&C is walking by everyday and seeing the interesting books on display in the window. Maybe somewhere on 15th?
1. Can’t be here, No Space is moving (back) in.
2. Could be…I think there might be some space open in there…
3. Another maybe.
We’re pretty solid on where we’re going, and it’s still on Pine. But we’re going nowhere until our landlord finds a tenant, which could be months, so there’s no real news to report. I can state categorically that there will be a party at the shop before we go. You are all invited.