The fate of our Uptown Borders bookstore is unclear, as Borders filed for Chapter 11 protection today. It plans to close underperforming stores in the next several weeks but no list of stores on the chopping block is available.
Read more at the Tribune
Update: We are very sad to report that our Borders location at 4718 N Broadway will be closing. You can read more about it here and review the complete list here.
I am no retail expert (well, I used to work in the business so I kind of remember what to look for), but I cannot help but suspect that our little Uptown Borders is struggling. I would be disappointed, although not surprised, to see it shuttered. I am not sure what provisions in the TIF might prevent it from closing, but I am sure Bankruptcy changes the rules somewhat.
ReplyDeleteIn no way, however, would the closing of Borders be the end for Broadway and Lawrence. That is a marvelous building with tons of potential. It is critical to North Uptown's slow recovery and stability, and we need to make sure it get's all the TLC it needs if it does find itself in need.
Having said all that, let's not jump the Gun here!
Major bummer. This is such a cool Borders. Hopefully it stays open.
ReplyDeleteThis stinks for Uptown if that store goes - I wonder if the new target down the road helps or hurts them. This also particular hits home being from Michigan and attending school in Ann Arbor, where Border is HQ.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Ann Arbor News, a list of store closures wil be revealed this afternoon:
http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/list-of-borders-store-closings-to-be-released-this-afternoon/
The whole big box book store concept in general is hurting. More competition including digital outlets. No way to know how our Border's specifically was doing in terms of profit/loss.
ReplyDeleteIf it was a profitable store, it has a chance to stay open or be reopened after they emerge from bankruptcy. If not, you can probably kiss it goodbye.
TIF provisions have no impact on this. It's not the bankruptcy of one little store in our hood. It's the bankruptcy of the nationwide corporation. I don't think Daley will reach into his TIF piggy bank to help keep the entire Border's corp solvent.
uptown is on the closing list
ReplyDeleteHere's the list of stores closing: http://www.scribd.com/doc/48960704/Borders-list-of-store-closings
ReplyDeleteA majority of its stores in Chicago will close, including Uptown. Only State St. and Hyde Park will remain open.
List is here, http://www.scribd.com/doc/48960704/Borders-list-of-store-closings
ReplyDeleteNearly ALL Chicago Borders stores are closing. But, I don't think Uptown is on the list! Lakeview gone, Lincoln Ave gone, North Ave gone, Beverly gone, Evanston gone...
#554
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/48960704/Borders-list-of-store-closings
Confirmed: closing.
ReplyDeleteList is out. We lost it.
ReplyDeletehttp://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/st_borders0216_20110216.html
ReplyDeleteHere is the list from the Wall Street Journal. The Uptown store is on the list.
You can find the list of stores here: http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/st_borders0216_20110216.html and unfortunately it includes our Uptown store.
ReplyDeleteThe list of store closing has been released http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/02/16/is-borders-closing-a-store-near-you-heres-the-full-list/?mod=e2tw and I am said to say that the Uptown location will be closing, as will the store at Broadway and Diversay.
ReplyDeleteThis stinks, but our Uptown Border's is gone. It's listed on page 4 of this article provided by the Wall Street Journal.
ReplyDeletehttp://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/st_borders0216_20110216.html
Also losing the one at Clark & Diversey, and I spotted 2 others as well. Rough day for book browsers across Chicago.
The list has been put out, and the Uptown Borders is closing, also Borders at Clark and Diversey, on Lincoln and at North and Halsted, among other Chicago-area stores closing.
ReplyDeletePretty much every one I ever go to is closing:
ReplyDelete755 W. North Ave.
2817 N. Clark St.
4718 N. Broadway
6103 N. Lincoln Ave.
The Uptown Borders is on the list of stores that will be closing (http://www.suntimes.com/3852258-417/borders-to-close-5-chicago-stores-3-in-suburbs.html).
ReplyDeleteSince it opened, the Uptown store has never performed well. If anything the north lakefront hoods were a bit over saturated.
Part of the problem with the Uptown site is that there is a lack of retail 'critical mass'.
To understand what I mean by this, look at the retail & dining situation near the other Borders on Broadway in Lakeview.
I also think the loss of Borders will present the community with a tremendous opportunity to move away from a "big box" suburban mentality.
The money spent on the former Goldblatt's complex has left Uptown with rehabilitated retail space in beautiful historic buildings which can now be used to house greater variety of small local businesses.
For instance, I think the corner building which used to be a bank, would be a great spot for a restaurant or even night club.
It's a tough day for book lovers in Chicago and Uptown. More people out of work. Bummer!
ReplyDeleteQRBNST - a restaurant or nightclub would be an excellent tenant for that space, unfortunately no one is lining up to rent space in the area. UBB across the street can barely lease all its space and the Riviera building is empty on the upper floors.
ReplyDeleteI think we may be saddled with an empty building for sometime, although I hope that isn't the case. If we can get an alderman for the 46th Ward to clean the area up south of Leland, maybe he or she can work with the new 48th Ward alderman to make this area attractive to new retailers. It may be awhile though until the crime/gangs in the area are addressed. ;-(
In case you are interested in the situation at the top of Borders (the CEO is getting a nice bonus):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/02/05/borders-new-ceo-gets-pay-bump/
This is one more opportunity for the new aldermen from the 46th and 48th to work together. The next 12 -24 months have the potential to be very interesting.
ReplyDeletemaybe Bodyfit can use the space and expand to include fitness rooms for group exercise!
ReplyDeleteI have an eReader so I don't go to the bookstores often but just last week I was looking for a book and first went to the Waldenbooks in Ogilvie because I work nearby. They didn't have what I was looking for so I went to the State St. store and they didn't have it either. I eventually found it at North & Clybourn although I found out later that the Uptown store had it too. It was nice to have options of places to go to when ordering online isn't a possibility when you don't have the time to wait on shipping. They should have kept at least 1 north side store open since State St. is more centrally located and Hyde Park is on the south side. This hurts authors too when doing book tours since there are so very few bookstores left in the city to do readings and signings.
ReplyDeleteToo bad as they where really a super nice book store to read and relax in. Many of all the book stores will or have folded. The cost of buying a book is very high. The cost of reading it on the net is very cheap. Way cheaper to download the complete book and store hundreds of them on my computer. Good old internet has taken the toll on many a business now adays.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Obama and Bush (and a few before them)we are in the midst of a developing depression.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that we are coming out of a recession is a joke.
Instead of stopping the thieves from Wall Street, all the politicians continue to enable them and they are gambling again with CDO's. There's nobody reporting that, because it's always portrayed as the fault of the "workers" with their pension plans and social security benefits supposedly weighing down the economy.
Borders may be a bookstore and bookstores may be outdated but it isn't only because of their marketing department and CEO's who like all the other's receive raises as the company folds.
Perhaps Uptown United and Business Partners could court H.H. Gregg for the Borders space.
ReplyDeletehttp://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011/02/indianapolis-electronics-store-coming-to-town.html
Hate to see Borders is closing. Hopefully we can get another name brand store in there quickly. Would like to see Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, T.J. Maxx/HomeGoods, Marshall's, Filene's Basement, Nordstrom Rack, etc. Our new Aldermans (48th and 46th) need to work together and quickly to not let this site become another blight in Uptown.
ReplyDeleteI've spent my last dime at Borders, not just the Uptown store, all of them. So much for commitment to community.
ReplyDeleteKind of sad to hear about, as I was in there this evening. At night, it often appears to be a ghost town at times, to be such a big store. Hopefully that space isn't vacant for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad. There are so, so many vacant retail spots in Uptown, and along Broadway. The Borders is amazing space. Aside from it's lack of an attached parking lot, would there be any reason why we could not try to get Trader Joe's to move into this space? Or a movie theater?
ReplyDeleteI would love a TJs there and think it would do great . But does anyone really have the pull for that?
ReplyDeleteI'd also love a microbrew there. Where's Irish Pirate at on this one?
Meg,
ReplyDeleteyou said "I'd also love a microbrew there. Where's Irish Pirate at on this one?"
The IrishPirate wants nothing to do with microbrew. He likes his brew macro in big steins. Served by macro women in mini outfits.
Something like this, only less classy.
Perhaps a combination IrishPirate Pub, gun range, Army Navy Store, fried chicken outfit, and Pirateburger emporium.
Perhaps given the size of the space we could also set aside some rooms for table showers and therapeutic massages.
The IrishPirate likes this idea. Far too much. Almost as much as he likes speaking of himself in the third person.
I can dig that too.
ReplyDeleteBut I still prefer a TJs or Microbrewery.
The Border's on Broadway in Uptown has been slated to close for at least two years. A few years ago, Border's announced that it would close the Uptown, North & Halstead, Lakeview (Broadway/Diversey) and Hyde Park stores as soon as sub-tenants were found to take the spaces.
ReplyDeleteThe Chapter 11 reorganization just hastens things by canceling the leases, and more stores will close than originally plan.
The chain has been floundering for years, which is no surprise considering the competition from Amazon and other online sellers; and the general glut of retail space in the U.S. in combination with the recession. But Border's might not have had a very good business model to begin with- I love the lavish Uptown store, but it never seemed like a good idea to build a place with triple height ceilings and 10' wide aisles, then invite customers to browse the merchandise for hours over coffee, then walk out without buying anything. Why buy it when you can sit comfortably in the store and read it for free, then put it back on the shelf? I observed customers often in the Border's and Barnes & Nobles stores, and that's exactly what they did.
I'm very sad to see it go. Looks like the era of book super-stores is over.
This would be a nice spiral parking for Riviera, Aragon, and Uptown theater, in the future. Hope a Valet company would buy this. It would also provide parking for future businesses across the street from broadway.
ReplyDeleteI like the HH Gregg idea. The COO says they are "absolutely" looking at Borders' locations (nationally). What a great sales tax base, and employer, that would be. Would generate lots of foot traffic, too.
ReplyDeleteMeg; Love the idea of a microbrewery! It would be a great space. A certain brewbup in Logan received a TIF grant as part of the initial funding. Let's put some of that Uptown TIF money to good use.
ReplyDeleteI been told that our borders in Uptown has been doing well. I assume because of TIF and the bankruptcy, it gives Borders an easy out of their contract.
ReplyDeleteJohn, no TIF funds for a pub! If they go to anything it should be our schools and improvements to existing low-income housing. We can not and should not use TIF's for a pub! Business should come, if they build it,we will come.
ReplyDeleteStrange that anyone could claim the Uptown store on Broadway was doing well.
ReplyDeleteI looked up the post I put on my own blog in 2007, and I referenced Border's announcement, which appeared in Crain's Chicago Business in March 2007 that the chain would be closing the Uptown, Hyde Park, Lakeview, and North & Halstead stores as soon as they could sublet the spaces.
Uptown paid a lot of money to get this store located on Broadway through the Broadway/Lawrence TIF. The moral of the story is that not only is it unfair and a violation of free market principles to subsidize some businesses at the expense of others, it just doesn't work. There is no way we can be assured that a business that we threw millions of dollars around is going to survive long enough to pay back the investment. Businesses are run to make their owners money, folks, and no national chain is going to show "commitment to the community" when it doesn't pay. And no matter what happens, when they go into BK, all bets are off. If they don't survive, it's kind of useless to talk about what they "committed" to.
I haven't bought a book in years, except as gifts for others. I try to read a book a week, but I get everything from the public library. The days of me blowing $15-20 on a book are over.
ReplyDelete"nice book store to read and relax in." 'Loved to browse there.."
ReplyDeleteWell, it is kind of hard to make money with no sales! In old dasy stores would say "This ain't a library, buy something!"