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The venerable Midnight Special bookstore tried to make a go of it after moving off the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, but it didn't work out. The store has sent an email to customers informing them of its impending closure. The clearance sale begins Saturday.
The email (thanks to Andy for the tip):
Sent: Friday, May 07, 2004 10:35 AMSubject: We regret to inform you...
Last year, well over 1000 of you gave us so much money, so much of your time and so much heart, to make sure we could reopen after 8 months "in storage." Unfortunately, the delay was too great and our debts grew with the delays. Only local outlets of major chains can afford the losses that come with opening stores; even though our sales were steadily growing, it was not fast enough to keep us going until we could sustain ourselves.
Therefore, it is with so much sadness and even much anger, that we announce we are closing the Midnight Special Bookstore. We know how much you have given to us; we want you to know how hard we tried and how long we worked to keep our doors open. We also want you to know how sincerely we will miss your comments, complaints, support, events, books, small talk, jokes, ideas; you have been our community... our daily life, for 34 years.
We will close our doors in about 4 or 5 weeks (we'll post the exact date as it comes closer) and our GREAT BIG SALE starts Saturday, May 8. Please come buy us out!! And pick up a copy of our list of independent booksellers in Los Angeles... we would never leave you with nowhere to go! All events for May will proceed as planned, unless the author wishes to cancel. All events after June 2nd are cancelled.
These are amazing times we live in, both at home and all over the world. They are as exciting as they are tragic, because, we in this country who have such great responsibility, have also a great opportunity to open minds and accelerate change; and maybe, even begin to close down an unjust and oppressive system.
Nothing will die when the Midnight Special closes it doors, because all of you and our staff of the last 34 years -- and today... Ruben, Rolando, Erin, Bill, Lorraine, Olin, Daniel, Jason and Jim -- are the life of the Midnight Special, and each one of us is part of a much larger voice that cannot be silenced.
Margie
Midnight Special Bookstore