I just got off the phone with Elliott Bay Book Company owner Peter Aaron, and he’s finally confirmed it: Just like we reported back in October, Elliott Bay Book Company will be moving from Pioneer Square to a new location on Capitol Hill: 1521 10th Avenue, right next to Oddfellow’s Hall between Pike and Pine.
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Aaron’s not sure of the exact dates just yet, but the bookstore will close its Pioneer Square location “probably sometime in February” and reoopen “probably mid-March” after two weeks of moving books and fixtures to the new location. The new location will be 19,000 square feet, slightly smaller than the current store’s 20,000 square feet, but Aaron notes that “the selling area will be about 15,000 square feet, which is bigger than the current location.”
The new space will have 25 parking spaces below street level, and another 60 surface-level spaces around the corner. Aaron confirms that there will be a cafe in the new space, and he says “I haven’t decided yet” if the new bookstore will carry used books in addition to new books.
Aaron sent us a copy of the letter that will be going live on Elliott Bay’s website this evening, and it’s after the jump. I have fuller analysis right here, and I’ll continue adding my thoughts in the days to come.
A NEW CHAPTER
After many weeks of speculation about the future of The Elliott Bay Book Company, I am now able to confirm that the book store will be moving to a new location on Capitol Hill in the spring of next year.
The past two years have been a difficult, painful period of exploring and evaluating possibilities in an attempt to determine what would be best—and necessary—to ensure the long-term health and vitality of the store. And while the thought, and the practicalities, of moving from the site and the locale which have been home for the past 36 years are daunting to say the least, I am convinced that this upcoming relocation will afford us the best opportunity to remain, and further develop as a thriving enterprise.
First—about the new location. We will be moving into a beautiful vintage building on 10th Avenue between Pike and Pine. The building dates from 1918—and was the original Ford truck service center for Seattle. The space will be comparable to the current store (in fact a bit larger), and will incorporate a café and a room dedicated to author appearances. It has the fir floor—complete with creaks—we’re used to treading, and gorgeous high wood ceiling—including massive wood beams—and skylights. While no space could exactly duplicate the charm of the original store, I can promise that the new building will offer a warm, comfortable and cozy environment that will be true to the beautiful place Walter Carr founded on Main Street.
The building has its own parking below street level—and between this and a nearby lot, we will be able to provide ample validated parking. In addition the new space will offer something we’ve never been able to offer before—wheelchair access to all levels.
The neighborhood is one of incredible vitality. I’m confident that this move will boost our business to the level necessary to maintain our commercial viability—and to facilitate the ongoing investment necessary to keep any business vital.
It will be sad for us all to leave a building—and a neighborhood—that have been our home for all these years. For those who can’t imagine us anyplace else, believe me—all of us at the store have had to wrestle through that. Moving the store is the second-last thing I would want to see happen. Seeing the store close would be the only thing worse. The fact is that the business has been eking downward for the past several years, and the steeper decline of the past two years has made it clear that if the book store is to survive, it must be in a location that affords the vibrancy (especially in the evenings), parking, population base, and freedom from conflict with the sporting events—all of which characterize the new site.
When I first became involved in the ownership of Elliott Bay eleven years ago, it was because I believed fervently that this gem, which had been “my” bookstore since I first moved here twenty-seven years ago, was worth saving—that it was a precious asset that must and, in fact, could flourish in this city—if anywhere on earth. Since that time I have done my best to be a faithful steward in preserving both the spirit and the body of this unique place which has been built and nourished cooperatively by the generations of booksellers who have worked here over the years and the book-lovers who have supported us—here in Seattle, across the country and indeed around the world. I’m inexpressibly grateful for that ongoing support—and most especially for the outpouring of concern and commitment we’ve received in recent months. We’re committed to doing everything in our power to continue to earn your patronage and support.
Even as we work toward this significant change, we will strive to do our best to stay focused day-to-day on our primary calling: putting books in readers’ (your) hands. This includes the full regimen of author readings. To us, this is less about ending or beginning than about continuing, developing and deepening what we can offer to a community of devoted readers.
We will post progress reports on the new location and ongoing updates on the exact timing of the move on the website (www.elliottbaybook.com). I welcome the opportunity to address any questions or comments you may have.
Sincerely,
Peter Aaron,
Owner
Elliott Bay Book Company
1521 10th Avenue on Capitol Hill in Seattle (Circa. 1936)
Go ther and spend lots of money. Then spend some more.
Free Lunch, my friend, you are Out to Lunch.
I live on the Hill and I have worked Downtown…well, not really DT but at Union Station which is actually closer to Elliot Bay than your odd definition of Downtown, which I’m guessing you really mean the Civic Center and not Westlake which IS pretty much the same distance from Pioneer Square as it is from the new location on the Hill…and where exactly in Seattle can you walk very far without encountering a hill or at least an incline, and who really lets that keep them from doing things they want to do? Also, there’s something called a bus.
And since when is Capitol Hill some obscure fringe neighborhood that no one visits or apparently lives on? It’s adjacent to downtown and the largest, densest neighborhood in the city. I think plenty of people can and will find it. I’m guessing that thousands of Capitol Hill residents have been shopping at Elliot Bay for years…we managed to make it all the way down the Hill and back without too much wear and tear…you might give it a try.
hmmm…how is putting a bookstore in the suburbs going to help with traffic or reduce carbon footprint? For the quarter million people who live in the City Center that would mean we would have to FUCKING DRIVE OR TAKE A BUS to go buy books.
I’d rather walk, thanks.
It’s not that hard to park near the current EBBC. I have never not found spot in the garage on the west side of 1st Ave near Columbia, for example. Similar for Cap Hill. Next time you drive to the Hill, time how long it takes you to find a spot. Even it it’s one of those times where your think it’s forever, it will be like five minutes, max. It’s like waiting in line at a bank, it feels way longer than it is. (Does anyone go inside a bank anymore?)
Welcome to the neighborhood, EBBC. I am happy to have you in the mix!
@52: The densest neighborhood is Belltown, actually.
But that doesn’t matter since Mark Baerwaldt doesn’t read.
The only people that care about this move are leotards that diddled away 8 years of their lives working at the book store and who were then given a podium at a washed up weekly where they could publicly cry about it. Booooooring. I hear a fog horn. Booooooring.
Having worked at EBBCo, I have mixed feelings about the move, but I think that Aaron’s letter makes very strong points (unlike so many of the weird comments here that seem tantamount to declaring a boycott). I think that @50 has it about right in terms of what EBBCo offers that, say, a Barnes and Noble doesn’t. It’s knowledgeability, which is not the same as mere information or data, something that can be found by using Google or another search engine. Do you have a vague idea of what the book cover looks like, think that the book is about the environment, and has something to do with the Earth turning? Well, that sort of question could be (and has been–I was there) answered at EBBCo. The collective knowledge of the staff at EBBCo is what makes it distinct from any online book service that is reliant upon search engine technology and algorithms for determining which book you might like based on what others have looked at. Likewise, a recommendation from an EBBCo staff member has the potential to be more meaningful for the customer because of the staff member’s knowledge and willingness to think about the customer’s stated interests–to think, not to process data. The full price you pay for the book at EBBCo could, I suppose, be seen as the price that you pay for the potential to make use of this knowledge. At least, that’s my thought, although I’m sure that someone out there will complain that I have no understanding of economics, consumer behavior, or of the bottom line.
@ 58, as a veteran book store employee myself (Denver’s Tattered Cover), there’s one unfortunate development that makes the “knowledgeability” (great word coinage BTW) a double-edged sword – the fact that customers can take advantage of that knowledge to discover the book they’re looking for, then order that book from Amazon anyway since they have that nice discount.
I don’t know if this is a problem for Elliott Bay, whose on-hand selection kicks Tattered Cover’s ass for sure these days, but my old connections at TC say this is pretty frequent.
Yes, you are correct…technically Belltown is denser but it’s also a much smaller neighborhood. Capitol Hill has about 60,000 residents to Belltown’s 12,000…and parts of Capitol Hill are far denser than Belltown.
There are also 11,000 people living in downtown neighborhoods that actually surround Elliott Bay (unlike Belltown): the ID, the commercial core, and Pioneer Square itself.
More importantly, there are HUNDREDS of thousands of daily workers there, unlike Capitol Hill, which is probably has more beds than jobs (dunno the figures though).
You can argue all you want about hills, but I’m quite certain that Elliott Bay is aware that zero percent of their business in the new location is going to come from people walking up them from downtown. It’s just not going to happen.
Oh, and according to the city, Capitol Hill only has 19,075 people in it, not 60,000 (as of 2000). Downtown has more, if you include Belltown.
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Research/Popu…
@59: Indeed! The whole “free rider” problem is something to take into consideration. I doubt it could be countered effectively unless people who visited the bookstore were compelled by force to buy the book they ask about, or otherwise to pay a fee just to visit or to consult the employees. But this sort of thing seems impractical, to say the least.
@59, even worse are the folks who walk through bookstores with their Kindle, and order it up right on the spot when they see something they like.
Yes, FNARF and did you look at their definition of Capitol Hill? The “official” boundaries of the neighborhood are far smaller than the actual boundaries…I live on top of the Hill yet according to the city’s definition I don’t live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood but the building across the street from me IS officially Capitol Hill…
Anyone too lazy, obstinate or stupid to go to the biggest, best indie bookstore in the city just because it’s moving to a location that it’s determined is better for their financial health shouldn’t be allowed to enter the new store.
On a side-note, Everyday Music (independently-owned from Portland, OR and non-corporate) will be moving into the old Ford building in late January so there will be two shops selling dead formats side-by-side.
Welcome to Cap Hill EBBC!!
Oh man, @65, you argue about the boundaries of downtown, but Capitol Hill’s don’t apply? I always feel bad how Fnarf abuses you, but it’s hard to blame him – you really do provide a lot of openings.
You now have a neighborhood bookstore, pure and simple. Will people outside of that neighborhood go there? Sure, because it’s a great one. But the percentage of them that work downtown, but stop by due to its new, convenient location? That percentage will start with a decimal point.
(Oh – and by “downtown” I mean where all the high-rises are clustered, not where the mall is. People who work at “Hot Dog on a Stick” aren’t paying retail for books.)
Seriously, it’s not EBBS’ fault they’re moving. The owner of the building decided she wanted to chop the space up for four storefronts and wouldn’t renew their lease. Don’t give them crap for having a bad landlord.