By Chuck Ross
On the heels of the news that troubled bookseller Barnes & Noble is closing its showcase store across from Lincoln Center in New York, TVWeek has learned from employees of the booksellers’ stores in two high-end neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area that they will be likely closing as well at the end of the year.
These are the Barnes & Noble stores in Encino and Calabasas, both in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
Both stores are in malls owned by Caruso Affiliated Holdings, LLC. Caruso also owns one of the hottest malls in L.A., The Grove.
An employee at one of the two Barnes & Noble’s locations told TVWeek that the stores are closing because "Caruso is asking too much money" in rent from the bookseller. Another employee used almost those same words in describing the situation.
However, Caruso spokesperson Jennifer Gordon says that talks with Barnes & Noble continue and "no decision has been reached" about the future of the two stores. She would not say on what issues the talks were focusing.
TVWeek also heard that if the Encino store closes it will be replaced by a CVS drug store. Gordon said she could not comment about that.
Earlier this month I wrote a blog entry decrying the closing of the store in New York.
I can confirm this. I even went so far as to complain to my city council representative. The councilman told me that B&N is leaving because Caruso has asked for an unconscionable increase in the rent, one that B&N is either unwilling or unable to pay.
This is the only bookstore in Encino and, yes, it’s being replaced by a CVS. There’s already a CVS less than a mile away and a Walgreen’s just across the street.
The CVS will be open 24 hours and will sell alcohol. Not for consumption on-premise, as it’s obvi not a bar. The neighborhood does not need another janked up convenience store–and that’s all that CVS is.
The problem is that Rick Caruso has major juice at City Hall and the mayor is an idiot.
Okay all you moms, mommy bloggers and mompreneurs, Encino needs you! Please reTweet, comment, reply and help us save our bookstore. Barnes and Noble is where our community congregates, schools stage fundraisers, authors speak, teachers read aloud to students, hipsters leaf through magazines and we all pick up last minute gifts and cards.
I agree, what a loss for our town. We really do not need another CVS. It will diminish what makes living in Encino so attractive. Our book store is the place where I love to go buy books and take my kids to choose theirs, or just browse through the aisles, listen to Open Mic nights or go to book signings. Who in the world wants CVS there. Ralphs has everything you need and just a few blocks away is a huge CVS market and another few blocks away another one, two Walgreens are also in the vicinity not to speak about all the pharmacies up and down Ventura Blvd. How much pills and shampoos can anyone need?
I am hearing it’s a done deal. Maybe if enough of us tell Caruso Affiliated that we’ll boycott the entire center, just maybe they’ll listen.
Lately, Rush portrayed stuff of The president and Hillary Clinton and various Dems and played videos from Ahmadinejad’s address and pointed out that they together repeat the same things whilst preaching about The states and capitalism.
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