Stop, Drop and Roll

01 April 2008 | Alameda Community | John Knox White

It’s almost as if some intrepid SD&R readers saw this coming. Less than 18 months after opening, we’re losing a great bookstore.

Of course it’s not Borders, it Another Room located at Rhythmix Cultural Works. The news made me sad. I’ve been in a couple of times and really liked what I saw. But then I never actually bought anything, and two visits in a year hardly qualifies for having a stake in something.

I’m not sure where the customer draw was going to come from. RCW is off the beaten path enough that it’s a destination in and of itself. Nobody’s going to Peets and then strolling to Another Room (and by nobody I mean not more than 5 people a day). While the discussion on the Park Street - North of Lincoln may some day see a different neighborhood character there, it’s going to take years.

(Quick aside;did you know that the consultant was going to try and call it NoLI? Seriously. It was suggested that Alameda wasn’t going to warm to a name that came straight from NYC’s hipster naming convention and it was quietly shelved.)

All the same, this bookstore, that I never visit, is leaving and I think it’s sad. Check out www.ryhthmix.org for create classes and events. Another Room will be open until April 27th.