Borders' Bust Brings a Boon to Indie Rivals

Roberta Rubin can in no way celebrate the demise of the Borders bookstore chain.

All booksellers, large and small, operate in a fraternity. They’re in the business to make money, but also love the printed word in long-form style by famous and obscure authors. The demise of such a large purveyor of books means far fewer brick-and-mortar outlets for customers as thousands of employees are added to the jobless rolls.

Yet the free-enterprise system provides opportunity even in such a dark day for the industry. And Rubin’s independent The Book Stall store, operating on Elm Street in downtown Winnetka since 1982, has experienced an uptick in business since Borders’ departure from the area.

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After the recent closings of Borders outlets in Wilmette and Highland Park, The Book Stall now stands as the only North Shore bookstore between Evanston and Lake Forest.* The alternative for book lovers would be a trip to Barnes & Noble stores in Evanston, Skokie, Deerfield and Lincolnshire, or patronize the tiny Lake Forest Book Shop in that community’s downtown.

“The publishers will be stupefied to make up for this loss, even though they haven’t been paid by Borders for a while,” said Rubin. “They were a brick-and-mortar store that I think still has to be around. That’s why I think the indies will still survive.

"How do you give an e-book away? How do you give it as a gift? How do you really go back to page 22 to start reading it again? I don’t think the popularity of it [the e-book] will continue to increase as it has the past year,” she added.

Ever since Edens Plaza’s Borders closed two months ago, Rubin has been honoring the company's discount card.

“If they come in with a card from Borders or even tell us they have a card from Borders, we give them one year’s free enrollment in our No. 10 Club,  which is a 10 percent discount,” Rubin said.

“It’s a direct transfer. It seems to engage people. We’ve had 178 people do that so far. Now we see a lot more traffic. We are benefiting, in a bittersweet way,” the bookstore owner explained.

Unfortunately, Rubin said she cannot hire any displaced Borders employees, noting that her modest-sized store is fully staffed.

The Book Stall more than held its own with the big chains in landing celebrity authors to headline special events.

“Through the years, we’ve let it be known we have a good track record,” Rubin said. “The authors want to come here. We’re in a major city. I’m not naïve to think that if I was in Keokuk, IA, that I’d be getting these people.”

The Winnetka location has twice held events featuring former President Jimmy Carter--one more time than Harry Potter impresario J.K. Rowling has held court. 

“That was really a happening,” Rubin said of Rowling's appearance.

Also among the guest authors were TV celebrities Martha Stewart and Larry King.

Rubin also sponsors events in other locations. She landed former President George W. Bush for a downtown Chicago signing and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at a local church.

“We’ve been asked to get Stephen King,” Rubin said of the horror story novelist. “We have to try.”

*Correction: Books on Vernon is another independently run bookstore in the North Shore area, located at 664 Vernon Ave. in Glencoe.