More Books, located at 310 State St., will be closing Oct. 25 and moving in with Avol’s Bookstore on West Gilman Street. As another independent store closes its doors, some Madison officials and business owners are concerned that chain stores now have another opportunity to infiltrate State Street.
Downtown Alder Austin King, District 8, said there are many reasons why independent stores have been closing on State Street. “One of the major reasons is that big businesses are able to pay high property taxes that small independent businesses may struggle to pay,” he said.
“We need to keep that critical mass of small stores and discourage chain stores on State Street,” King said.
The More Books used bookstore has gone from specializing in science fiction and mysteries to selling general used books. Avol’s now specializes in academic and scholarly books, but after consolidation with More Books there will be a reintroduction of mysteries and science fiction.
Several independent stores have closed their doors in recent months, including the Sugar Shack, Freedom and the Art Mart.
“What people want are stores that are interesting, out of the ordinary; stores that you wouldn’t find in a shopping mall, that have more variety, and are more eclectic,” said Ron Azerwien, owner of More Books and Avol’s Bookstore. “If they want a mall, they can go to the Mall of America,” he said.
Azerwien said a large portion of his customer base includes shoppers outside of Madison but said he worries he will lose out-of-town visitors with the addition of more chain stores to State Street. Other State Street bookstore owners say they are disheartened by the increase in chain stores in downtown Madison.
“I would love to see more independent businesses down here,” said Trudy Barash, Owner of Canterbury Books, located just off of State Street at 315 W. Gorham.
She attributed the difficulties of local businesses to the recent construction this past summer.
“The more there is on the outskirts of town, the less people are willing to come downtown to go shopping,” Barash said.
However, like many independent retailers, Barash has mixed emotions about National competitors coming in.
“Many [local retailers] feel [a national chain] is helpful because it provides an anchor or magnet,” said Mike Verveer, Madison City Council President.
He said city officials could do some things to help independent retailers. One possibility, according to Verveer, is to lower a maintenance fee that State Street businesses pay to have their sidewalks shoveled and garbage picked up.
Another subsidizing option is to amend the existing zoning code. According to Verveer, most national chains would not consider moving into the average State Street square-footage space. By lowering the amount of space a store on State Street occupies, chain business owners might be more hesitant to open their stores there, he said.
“I would be horrified if State Street became like any mall in America. I choose locally owned restaurants and businesses over chains at every chance I get,” Verveer said. ” State Street needs to maintain an eclectic funky character for it to remain the place that it is.”
