Happy 25th anniversary to Unabridged Bookstore in Chicago!! I used to live right around the corner from Unabridged – a fanTAStic bookstore – and still, whenever I go back, have to stop by and visit the place. I like to support them. I always bought books there when I lived in Chicago, as opposed to Barnes & Noble – well, first of all – it was so convenient. I could basically roll out of bed and be there. But also: survival of little shops like that is important to me. It’s nice to know some things do not change. That place is a part of the cultural landscape of Chicago – they are a part of the larger community – people have great affection for that bookstore, and rightly so. I frequent the big chain bookstores, of course I do – but I’m not committed to them in the way I am to bookstores like Shakespeare & Co. or Unabridged. If I stop shopping at Barnes and Noble, they will not even notice. But I feel like my business – with these wonderful little stores – really matters to them. It helps them survive. Very important to me.
Listen to owner Ed Devereux’s answer to the question “How have you prospered?”
One of the reasons is because of our missionwe’ve always wanted to sell just books, in a bricks-and-mortar store, in a neighborhood. At the beginning Walden and Dalton had a certain mix; in fact the percentage of sales from non-book items at several Walden stores was larger than from books. We don’t even want to have an online presence; we want to hand-sell the books to customers in the store. Also, all along I decided that I wanted to have only full-time help, no part-timers. That way you get people who have a better knowledge of books and a better knowledge of the store. And by paying them more than most bookstores and providing them with full benefits, people here stay a long time. So you have very little turnover, and everyone gets to know your customers thoroughly, by name, by face.
Yup. You always saw the same people working there. And better yet: they all knew something about books (unlike many of the bozos who work at Barnes & Noble – people who have never heard of Hemingway, for fuck’s sake.)
Anyway: Happy birthday, Unabridged! Live long and prosper!
