Rebecca George likes to think that she is part of her customers’ stories.
There have been two weddings and almost 20 engagements at Volumes Bookcafe, the bookstore she owns in Wicker Park. Debut authors launched successful careers. Just a couple of months ago, she said, a baby took his first steps in between the bookshelves and now he’s “cruising around like he owns the place.”
It’s these memories George said she’ll miss the most when Volumes closes in January. It was a decision she and her sister, a co-owner, were forced to make due to a consistent 20% to 30% drop in sales, a death knell for independent bookstores, which typically operate with tight profit margins.
“Bringing books to the world is important,” George said. “All the children that you can get excited to read. The reluctant reader who comes in and you give them the perfect book. You become a part of people’s lives.”
George largely attributes the dip to a Barnes & Noble opening in the neighborhood last year, a plotline straight out of “You’ve Got Mail,” sans happily ever after. In the 1998 movie, a book chain mogul played by Tom Hanks falls in love with the owner of a small independent bookstore owner played by Meg Ryan, who he’s trying to put out of business.
“Where’s our Tom Hanks?” George said. “But no, I’m just kidding. I don’t think I would have ever dated Tom Hanks because of (his job).”
George said Volumes, which has been open for about a decade, immediately saw a “significant” drop in sales during the Christmas season after Barnes & Noble moved into the century-old Noel State Bank building in October 2024. The winter holidays are “make or break” for the small business, but she hoped that it was a temporary setback.
They tried to add more events to bring in new customers and even cut their own salary. George said she and her sister were eating ramen and day-old pastries from the coffee shop. But, unfortunately, the declines continued.
Barnes & Noble didn’t respond to a request for comment. However, CEO James Daunt said last year in a news release that in Wicker Park the company was opening “what is now one of the most beautiful bookstores anywhere in the world.” Barnes & Noble also opened a store in Lincoln Park, a mark of the company’s “tremendous growth.”
George emphasized that real estate is expensive, so it’s impossible for Volumes to carry the number of books on offer at Barnes & Noble. Volumes also can’t duplicate Barnes & Noble’s discounts on new books, she said.
“We’re living in a world where everyone wants something yesterday,” George said. “It takes us usually a day or two to get something in … and we did start seeing more people just say ‘I’ll just go down the street.’”
For Jessica Ekhoff, an investor in Volumes, it’s devastating that the “cozy, safe and welcoming’ store is closing. She contributed financially to the shop when it moved to its current location on North Milwaukee Avenue due to rising rent prices after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve always been a big reader, and to me, like a great neighborhood bookstore is the perfect third space,” Ekhoff said. “There’s a certain kind of bond between people who really love books.”
She’ll miss shopping for a book and coffee as a “weekend treat.” Her 4-year-old son will also miss the kids section. But, most of all, she said it’s a shame how difficult it is to operate as a small business.
“These massive corporations can just kind of run over everybody else,” Ekhoff said.
Another factor that contributed to the closure, George said, is the prospect of rising health care premiums next year as COVID-era tax credits expire. Both she and her sister have various health problems, including arthritis and diabetes, and the possibility of paying more than double felt debilitating.
“Without the tax credit, my sister, we’d be paying over $1,000 a month. Mine is just shy of $800 with a pretty large deductible,” George said. “That’s not sustainable. It’s like I can’t eat and have health insurance.”
Julia Fine, a 37-year-old Portage Park resident and author, said Volumes has been a staple in the Chicago literary community for a decade, championing local authors. She recently hosted a Y2K-themed book launch for her new novel, “Honeymoon Stage,” at Volumes.
“It builds a really lovely community in a way that I think it’s a lot harder to get at a big box chain,” Fine said.
Some loyal customers were also reminiscing about the shop. James Geary, 37, of Bucktown, said he was able to get a signed copy of “The Demon of Unrest” by his favorite author, Erik Larson, because George personally messaged him. To him, that’s the upside to small businesses.
Cassie Buchignani, 33, of Wicker Park, hosts a monthly book club at the store. It was tough to find a space to host the club but Volumes was accommodating, and she said the atmosphere is so inviting it almost feels like her “second home.”
“Volumes is so fun because you go in and find books that you didn’t even know you were looking for,” she said. “I feel like it’s the thrill of the browse. I don’t go into Volumes usually with a book in mind. Volumes tells me what to buy.”
For one last holiday season, George said Volumes is operating business as usual, including putting together a holiday gift catalog. She said there are also plenty of other indie bookstores to shop at moving forward, including at the Chicagoland Holiday Bookstore Trolley in December.
“The amount of money that’s going directly back into your community is significantly higher with small businesses than it is with corporate America,” George said. “You don’t move to a neighborhood because there’s an Abercrombie. You move to a neighborhood because it’s got a cool bakery and a bookstore.”
