05-05-2006, 03:17 PM
I can think of no single place that occupies such high esteem in DOOM as ACWLP. Two of us worked there. One of us married someone who worked there. It could be said that the founding five DOOM members really started there.
From today's Chronicle
Well-Lighted dims
With declining business, haven for book lovers goes up for sale
Heidi Benson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, May 5, 2006
One of the most popular independent bookstores in San Francisco is up for sale.
A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, in Opera Plaza, has served as a cultural hub and a haven for book lovers for a generation.
Now, after years of declining sales, owner Neal Sofman hopes to pass the baton.
"My long-term partners want out, and I don't have the capital to buy them out," Sofman said Thursday.
"I'm talking to a couple of different interested parties."
Sofman founded the store in 1975 in Cupertino, opening a second store in Larkspur (now closed) in 1978.
The Opera Plaza location, which opened in 1982, has been called a blessing and a curse.
At 601 Van Ness, the store is near City Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, the War Memorial Opera House and Hayes Valley restaurants.
But foot traffic is sparse.
"Business has not been as robust as it once was," said Sofman. He cites exorbitant meters on Van Ness (6 minutes for a quarter) as one customer deterrent.
"It has been a special place for all of us," said Sydney Goldstein, founder and director of City Arts & Lectures, which has relied on A Clean Well-Lighted Place to sell books at Arts & Lectures events.
"They have been the book vendor for us -- from Stephen Colbert to John Updike to Joan Didion -- going back more than 20 years," said Goldstein.
Goldstein added that "Neal has people who have worked for him for 10, 17 and 22 years -- loyal people dedicated to books and to the kind of customers who care about books."
Last month, Sofman sold the store's domain name -- <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bookstore.com">www.bookstore.com</a><!-- w --> -- for an undisclosed sum. How the proceeds will be used remains to be seen.
A representative of the landlord had no official comment about the hoped-for sale.
"This has happened very quickly," said Kereen Stoll of Urban Pacific Properties, which manages the property for Opera Plaza Limited Partnership.
"My relationship with the landlord is good," Sofman said, "but it's time for me to move on."
Sofman is in the process of developing a new, smaller store -- called Bookstore West Portal (at 80 West Portal) -- which will open sometime this month.
"It's a small neighborhood store, totally different from A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books," Sofman said Thursday.
"I raised the money with other investors as a separate proposition," he explained. "They are different companies. I'm the only common denominator."
Meanwhile, as Sofman seeks a buyer for A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, the lineup for author readings remains impressive.
"This is our busy season -- we have six writers a week," said events coordinator Wendy Sheanin.
"There are four local writers giving readings -- plus people like Gay Talese and Edmund White -- this week alone."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...01&sc=1000
From today's Chronicle
Well-Lighted dims
With declining business, haven for book lovers goes up for sale
Heidi Benson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, May 5, 2006
One of the most popular independent bookstores in San Francisco is up for sale.
A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, in Opera Plaza, has served as a cultural hub and a haven for book lovers for a generation.
Now, after years of declining sales, owner Neal Sofman hopes to pass the baton.
"My long-term partners want out, and I don't have the capital to buy them out," Sofman said Thursday.
"I'm talking to a couple of different interested parties."
Sofman founded the store in 1975 in Cupertino, opening a second store in Larkspur (now closed) in 1978.
The Opera Plaza location, which opened in 1982, has been called a blessing and a curse.
At 601 Van Ness, the store is near City Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, the War Memorial Opera House and Hayes Valley restaurants.
But foot traffic is sparse.
"Business has not been as robust as it once was," said Sofman. He cites exorbitant meters on Van Ness (6 minutes for a quarter) as one customer deterrent.
"It has been a special place for all of us," said Sydney Goldstein, founder and director of City Arts & Lectures, which has relied on A Clean Well-Lighted Place to sell books at Arts & Lectures events.
"They have been the book vendor for us -- from Stephen Colbert to John Updike to Joan Didion -- going back more than 20 years," said Goldstein.
Goldstein added that "Neal has people who have worked for him for 10, 17 and 22 years -- loyal people dedicated to books and to the kind of customers who care about books."
Last month, Sofman sold the store's domain name -- <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bookstore.com">www.bookstore.com</a><!-- w --> -- for an undisclosed sum. How the proceeds will be used remains to be seen.
A representative of the landlord had no official comment about the hoped-for sale.
"This has happened very quickly," said Kereen Stoll of Urban Pacific Properties, which manages the property for Opera Plaza Limited Partnership.
"My relationship with the landlord is good," Sofman said, "but it's time for me to move on."
Sofman is in the process of developing a new, smaller store -- called Bookstore West Portal (at 80 West Portal) -- which will open sometime this month.
"It's a small neighborhood store, totally different from A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books," Sofman said Thursday.
"I raised the money with other investors as a separate proposition," he explained. "They are different companies. I'm the only common denominator."
Meanwhile, as Sofman seeks a buyer for A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, the lineup for author readings remains impressive.
"This is our busy season -- we have six writers a week," said events coordinator Wendy Sheanin.
"There are four local writers giving readings -- plus people like Gay Talese and Edmund White -- this week alone."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...01&sc=1000
Shadow boxing the apocalypse