A Yellow Light for Greenlight

Two announcements today:

1) We're releasing the name of our future bookstore: Greenlight Bookstore! Much more about that name later on.

2) If you haven't heard from us on this blog for a while, it's because we've been wrestling with some tough decisions. The letter below is one we sent to some of our supporters, which we're now sharing publicly. In the next few days we'll be sharing some of the feedback we've gotten. Feel free to leave your own comments here -- we appreciate hearing from you.

Dear supporters of Greenlight Bookstore,

Back in mid-September, Jessica and Rebecca, along with the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative, threw a party that embodied our excitement about opening a new independent bookstore in Fort Greene. The response of the community showed us that our enthusiasm was shared by many. We set out with high hopes that we would secure a location and additional financing and open as quickly as possible. We have been looking for the right space since then, and contacting those who expressed interest about becoming investors in order to raise the remainder of our capital.

Between the party three months ago and today, some things have changed. There have been huge changes in the national economy, which we have seen manifested here in Brooklyn. Many who would have liked to invest in the bookstore have found themselves unable to do so. Consumer spending has fallen as everyone makes sacrifices – even on something as important as books. As with all retail sectors, independent bookstores have seen a significant drop in sales over the last two months. Our trusted mentors in the industry have advised us that it would be extremely risky to start our business now. The first year of a retail business is difficult enough; to make that beginning now, in this extremely uncertain climate, would be to give ourselves a handicap we might not recover from.

Some things have not changed, however. We still have every intention of opening a bookstore in Fort Greene that will benefit the community and showcase Brooklyn's vibrant literary culture. Our own capital is still secure: we didn't have any of our money in the stock market, so our financial situation is the same as it was in September (which is to say, better financed than most small businesses starting out). But after some soul-searching, we have decided that we must adjust our time frame. Rather than hoping to open the bookstore in early 2009, we will be looking at the later part of the year, or early 2010, depending on how the economy looks between now and then. Of course, if we were to find a wonderful location at a well-below market rent, we might consider opening earlier, but only if it were something truly out of the ordinary to offset the risks we would be taking. We feel this is the best strategy to ensure that the bookstore we create will be able to survive and thrive for years to come.

In light of this, we're asking those who have considered or committed to becoming community lenders to wait as well. As we monitor the economic situation and adjust our business plan accordingly, we will be in touch again when we are ready to move forward. We hope that by waiting we'll be able to give lenders the best value for their dollar, as well as saving the business from accruing debt before we are ready to begin work.

Thank you for your understanding of this difficult decision, and for your ongoing support of the bookstore's efforts. We will certainly keep you posted on our progress or any developments, primarily via our blog, which you can now find at www.greenlightbookstore.com. We wish each of you the best in the year to come, and look forward to partnering with you on creating the best bookstore possible when the time is right.

Best regards,

Jessica Stockton Bagnulo and Rebecca Fitting
Proprietors, Greenlight Bookstore LLC