Don Blyly, owner of Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s in Minneapolis, was recently interviewed by local NBC affiliate KARE for a report on independent bookstores:
…Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s in Minneapolis….specialize in Mystery and Science Fiction novels.
“We’re hanging in there, it’s tough, but hanging in there,” Don Blyly said, owner.
They’ve been around for about 35 years and the selection is mindblowing
“Somewhere around 100,000 volumes,” Blyly said. “A lot of people use this as a destination, or an excuse to come into town.”
Blyly said some people are actually coming back to independent bookstores because they’re tired of poor selections at the big chains.
[Thanks to Michael Walsh for the story.]
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I hope Don Blyly is right about people coming back to independent bookstores and small chains. In Toronto, we’re still lucky that Bakka-Phoenix is still around. It will be moving to larger quarters in the spring. Mike, I’ll let you know more when it gets closer to the date. As I mearn it, so will you.
He better stay in business… I think working part time at Uncle Hugo’s is Ken Fletcher’s only income.
So long as the independents remember that intelligent and enticing selection – large inventory helps too, but can be made up for – is what makes a good bookstore good.
From what I recall from my visits to Mpls, Uncle Hugo should have no problem with that.