Black Oak Books, which has had a presence in Berkeley for 33 years, is shutting its doors. Gary Cornell, the math professor and entrepreneur who rescued the storied bookstore in 2008 during the recession and who is still subsidizing its rent, said the store no longer makes financial sense. Its location, at 2618 San Pablo […]
Independent bookstores
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Books Inc. opens in North Berkeley after move
By Francesca Paris Workers were still putting the final touches to the store’s exterior Monday morning as both local residents and out-of-town visitors explored the new Books Inc. which opened its doors today in North Berkeley. Books Inc. shut down its smaller store on Fourth Street to move to 1491 Shattuck Ave., the former location of another […]
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Shakespeare & Co. closes after 51 years in Berkeley
Shakespeare & Co., a used bookstore that has been operating on Telegraph Avenue since 1964, closed its doors for good this week. The owner, Jon Wobber, said the store was not earning enough income for the time he was putting in. He made the decision to shutter yesterday, on June 2, and served his last […]
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Berkeley celebrates as Bookstore Day goes national
By Michael Berry After years of dwindling sales and gloomy news, some independent bookstores in Berkeley – as well as around the Bay Area and across the nation – are bouncing back and are again in a celebratory mood. Saturday May 2 marks both the return of California Bookstore Day and the first national Independent Bookstore […]
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Bookstore moving into old Black Oak Books in N. Berkeley
After five years of sitting empty marked with a “For Lease” sign, the former Black Oak Books on Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley will soon open its doors as a new business. And that business is: a bookstore. Books Inc., a Bay Area business that says it is “the west’s oldest independent bookseller,” will open in […]
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New independent bookstore Bookish opens in Berkeley
There’s a new bookstore in town, or at least a newly owned bookstore. After ditching a career in what she terms “corporate America,” Gina Davidson has taken over the former Analog Books at 1816 Euclid Ave., a stone’s throw from the Cal campus. With a fresh stock of books and a stylish makeover, Bookish has been up and running under Davidson’s […]