Local Broward bookstore in business for 50 years forced to close after rent skyrockets
FORT LAUDERDALE -- A local used bookstore that survived the arrival of Barnes & Noble and Amazon has to open a new chapter after being forced to shut down this coming weekend.
Volume One Books, located at 8910 Taft Street, managed to stay in business despite the arrival of big box bookstores and online commerce sites that became commonplace in recent years.
But what ultimately did the bookstore, owned by Sharon Luippold, in was a $1,700 rent increase that goes into effect later this month.
"Everybody knows what the economy is like and how the rental things are going," she said. "The new landlord we got last December went up on my rent $300 and this December he went up another $1,700, starting this month."
Luippold said she bought the book store in 1997 from another owner who had been in business for 20 years before that.
She said she decided to buy the bookstore because she had a young daughter who was starting school and she wanted something to do and had been a frequent customer.
The store is set to cease operations on Sunday, and Luippold, 66, said she plans to retire after that.
"I've already donated some books to Joe DiMaggio Hospitals, and books to the state hospitals," she said. "Several teachers have come through and gotten books for their classrooms."
Luippold said the closure is a bittersweet occurrence.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with y'all," she said. "I made a lot of friends and I am going to miss my friends."
