Life In The City

I was a regular customer of the Brentano's store at Century City Mall from 1989 until its closure in 2006. During most of its existence, that store was located right next to the old AMC 14 theatres on the northwest corner of the mall. The combination was a business owner's dream, with many movie-goers buying their tickets at the cinema right outside the bookstore's entrance, then turning around and entering Brentano's to browse and often actually purchase books while waiting for their shows to start. While I never truly accepted the rationale used for replacing it with the new Borders store (how did the new store "better serve the needs of the community"?) I eventually learned to accept the new location and was glad that it provided employment to at least three of the former Brentano's employees. Unfortunately, the new store didn't have the cozy feel of the old one, and not having it right next door to an AMC theatre (it is considerably more walking distance from the new AMC 15 on the southwest corner than its predecessor was from the AMC 14) had the effect of, in my opinion, significantly cutting down traffic to the shop. Without the steady stream of customers that Brentano's had as a result of its unique location in the mall, the new Borders store could not generate the revenue needed to survive. I think this proves the validity of the old saying, If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!

Labels: bookstores