Santa Cruz Borders Going Out of Business

Santa Cruz is returning to books without .

When Borders opened in June 2000, residents protested. Some of them slapped on “Books without Borders” bumper stickers; others refused to shop at the corporate vendor. Opening just two blocks from was a bold move that is not ending well for the company.  

Borders spokesman Donald Cutler said the company “entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning. We are entering a strategic store reduction program. We expect those stores to be wound down over the next two weeks."

Cutler cited “economic conditions, cost structures and viability of the locations, among other factors,” for driving Borders into bankruptcy. The stores slated to close have cost the company an average of $2 million a day. 

The company proposed closure of 200 out of its 642 stores as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. The 22,500-square-foot location on Pacific Avenue was on that list.

Other Bay Area Borders stores slated for closure include two San Francisco stores at Post and Market streets, Pleasanton, San Mateo, Los Gatos, Alameda, San Ramon, Fremont, Union City and Santana Row in San Jose.

Casey Coonerty Protti, who owns Bookshop Santa Cruz, said, “Borders' opening had a big impact on Bookshop. Luckily, we do business in Santa Cruz, which is incredibly supportive of locally owned business, so we were able to weather challenges of Borders being down the street.”

Now that they have made it through 10 years of competing for community dollars, Protti said, “We’re looking forward to reinvesting in the business in a way we haven’t been able to do in the last two years so that we will be a strong bookstore for the community.”

Protti learned the news this morning. Though she is in Hawaii vacationing, she has answered e-mails and calls all day. When she got the news, she first called the store to tell staff, and then called her father, Neal Connerty, previous owner of Bookshop Santa Cruz.

“We understand that losing a business downtown is a hard thing, and we feel sorry for that situation … but for Santa Cruz, where we really were taking away from each other, it’s exciting to be able to think forward and run the business we’ve been wanting to,” Protti said.

She said she has thought about this moment for a long time and feels a combination of relief and gratitude.

“Mostly I’ve been thinking about how incredibly grateful I am for our customers, who saved us once during the earthquake in '89, and now they’ve saved the store again, by getting us through this 10 years.”

Protti said the Borders closures are a reflection of what kind of stores people are willing to support, not a move away from bookstores in general.

“There is still a place for brick-and-mortar bookstores, but the stores that will survive are those that have a unique selection that reflects their community and have personal relationships with their customers," Protti said. "I think independent bookstores do that, and they have a strong future."

Borders customer Karla Epperson, who has lived in Santa Cruz for 2½ years, was shocked by the news.

She said, “I can’t believe it. My husband and I come here all the time. I love this place.”

While some Santa Cruz residents will rejoice this local business success story, the reality of more lost jobs in an already barren job market will hit hard for others.

Cutler indicated that Santa Cruz Borders employed 30 people.