Brand Bookshop To Close

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The Brand Bookshop in Glendale, CA will be closing its doors in August after 29 years in business.

(This is a different store than Mystery & Imagination, though on the same block).

Specializing in used books, Brand Bookshop opened in 1985. Jerome Joseph told the Glendale News-Press  the store was the idea of his business partner, Larry Mullen, a science fiction enthusiast.

Business has been tailing off since 2003, with bookstores forced to compete against the internet, further handicapped by a sagging economy.

The store will be selling all books for 50% off from July 1 until the store closes.

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3 thoughts on “Brand Bookshop To Close”

  1. Although it has only been open four years, the used-bookstore around the corner from my place has just closed. DAMN YOU AMAZON! It used to be a great place to hang around, even when not buying books, music or videos, but the owner said that he could no longer make revenues and rent meet. He was thinking of moving to Hamilton, a small steel-town about an hour away from Toronto, where no one wants to live. I wonder if he’ll make a go of it, or just find that rent and revenue don’t meet on a different part of a sliding scale?

  2. One happy note: Jerome, the owner, is actually retiring at age 85.

  3. This updated story clarifies the reason the store is closing.

    Noriaki Nakano, adopted son of owner Jerome Joseph, said the decision to close the store was due to Joseph’s poor health after a fall he took in July 2013.

    “He lost the ability he used to have, not just simple memory, but the ability to handle or comprehend the business,” Nakano said, adding that the store will close next month.

    Joseph is now in an assisted living facility in Glendale because he is unable to live alone, Nakano said.

    In addition, Nakano said it doesn’t make sense to invest more in a business that is not bringing in a lot of money.

    “I want to use the money for a better life for [Joseph], and to spend more time with him,” he said.

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