Saturday, Sept. 24, was the last day in Homewood for Bookie’s New and Used Books. Owner Keith Lewis announced on Sept. 2 that the shop would close within days of its four-year anniversary.
At the Sept. 13 Homewood trustees meeting, Stephanie Kuersten thanked Mayor Rich Hofeld and Economic Development Director Angela Mesaros for trying to help Bookie’s stay open, but she had a question.
was open in Homewood. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
“I was wondering if there was something we could figure out to prevent this from happening in the future to our small businesses,” she said. “They are very important to our downtown Homewood life.”
“If only people would buy more in town and frequent our businesses, not only Bookie’s but all the stores. We have to support our small businesses.”
Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld
Hofeld, who had attempted to mediate between Lewis and the property owner, said both are good people trying to make their businesses work. He noted the landlord has higher taxes to account for. Lewis cited the rent hike was the immediate cause of the decision to close the store.
I asked Homewood Economic Development Director Angela Mesaros about the Bookie’s situation and whether there was likely to be increasing rents that might put pressure on more downtown retailers.
She said she hasn’t heard of any other specific situations, but she noted that the most recent reassessment in the South Suburbs increased taxes for commercial properties and reduced rates for residential properties.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi pledged while campaigning for his first term that assessments needed to be more balanced. He said commercial property was chronically undervalued and residential property overvalued, shifting the tax burden unfairly to homeowners.
Bringing assessments into balance means hikes for commercial property. A Chicago Tribune report last year noted that Thornton Township commercial property assessments went up nearly 6% while residents went down 7.6%.
Mesaros said the taxes on the building Bookie’s is in have gone up dramatically. She is worried other businesses might soon experience the same rent pressure.
The tax situation is only part of the story, however. Hofeld noted in response to Kuersten that shopping habits matter.
“In talking to (Bookie’s) they felt the business wasn’t there,” Hofeld said. “The onus is really on the community. People buy online. If only people would buy more in town and frequent our businesses, not only Bookie’s but all the stores. We have to support our small businesses.”
At the Homewood Farmers Market on Sept. 17 a local businessman mentioned the impending closure. He echoed Hofeld’s view.
“It’s on us,” he said, admitting that he, like many others in the community, intended to shop at the local book store but didn’t actually follow through often enough. He thought Bookie’s closure might serve as a wake-up call to the community.
Shop local is not just something to say, it’s something to do.
That might be a good pledge for the coming holiday shopping season. There is strong support for local businesses in Homewood and Flossmoor. It’s a good time to renew our commitment to converting sentiment into action.
I had intended to write more on local democracy this month. In a way, that’s what this is about. It’s economic democracy. We vote with our pocketbooks.
If we spend more money online, we get more fulfillment center warehouses and delivery trucks. If we spend more money locally, we get more charming shops with friendly, knowledgeable staff.
It’s a choice.
Bookie’s may be gone, but Homewood hasn’t given up on book stores. Bookie’s was recruited by Hofeld to open here because of community interest in having a book store. Mesaros is at work seeking another book seller for the space.
“I’ve been reading everything I can about book stores and how to keep them open and what we can do,” she said.
She noted a sign of hope in the news recently. Block Club Chicago posted a story on Sept. 13 about a Wicker Park book store, Volumes Bookcafe, that was reopening after it had closed due to high rents and pandemic revenue losses:
“The end result was a group of about 20 people who came together to invest in the business, allowing the Georges to buy the ground floor of their current building. Their mortgage is now less than half of what rent was at the former space.”