During my 15 years reporting, I've interviewed some great names and famous faces at Borders Books and Music in Chicago. The high-rise store is on Michigan Avenue, across from the Water Tower Shopping Center.
Richard Chamberlain, Jackie Collins, Marlo Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Jimmy Carter, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Hugh Hefner and gossip columnist Liz Smith are a few of the greats who signed copies of their newly published books for eager lines of fans at this location.
Sadly, this month was going to mark the closing of that store, which has been around since 1995.
This isn't exactly breaking news.
An announcement of the planned closing came a year ago last February.
But the time span doesn't make the reality of the matter this month any easier. I thought it deserved a mention since this store and its many events have certainly provided plenty of fodder for my columns during the years.
According to a statement from Borders headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company "continues to have a strong commitment to Chicagoland with 19 stores throughout the area, including nearby locations on State Street, West North Avenue, North Clark Street in Lincoln Park and in the Citigroup Center - all of which are located within five miles of the Michigan Avenue store."
Since the lease was up on the building, I'm told, it was an economic decision to close the store.
However, some good news was delivered to me today via email from Mary Davis of Borders Inc. Corporate Affairs.
It seems in October 2009, Borders was able to reach an agreement with their lease which will keep the operation going for at least one more year, until January 2011.
"Wanted to let you know that we are delaying the closing of that store until Jan of 2011," Davis wrote me Tuesday (Jan. 5).
"We were able to negotiate a lease extension with terms that management expects will allow Borders to meet its profit objectives while remaining open another year. We are pleased to be able to continue to serve the customers who shop the store and thank Chicagoans for continuing to support Borders throughout the entire metro area."
This is far better and brighter news compared to the missive the company released to the press last spring.
"Borders has been a big part of Chicago for many years and that will not change with the decision to close this store," said Steve Davis, senior vice president of Borders group operations.
In this market, "our stores are community gathering places where our customers enjoy many free in-store events including readings by nationally known authors and local talents, music performances, celebrity appearances, book clubs, discussion groups, community events, story times and parties for kids, as well as other activities for the whole family," he said.
Area stores also will continue to support local nonprofits such as Literacy Volunteers of Illinois and the Illinois Literacy Foundation, Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago, and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Davis praised the 100 workers at the Mag Mile Borders and vowed to help them find jobs at other area stores whenever possible.
"I want to emphasize that the employees of the Michigan Avenue store have done a great job," he said.
" ... It's a difficult decision to close a store and we've done all that we can to keep this location open, but like a handful of other stores we have recently closed in cities ranging from Cincinnati to Santa Monica, this store has not met our profit objectives for some time now," he said.
"In today's economy, no retailer can afford to operate stores that do not produce the kind of results required to sustain a location, and therefore, we have no choice but to close the store in 2010."
Borders Group, Inc. is still a leading retailer of books, music and movies with approximately 27,000 employees. Subsidiaries include Waldenbooks and more than 1,000 book stores worldwide.
Readers were right
Thank you to the readers who noticed that last Friday's column listed the wrong actress for the film "Gigi" (1959), costarring Maurice Chevalier and Eva Gabor. Leslie Caron, who turns 80 next year, played the title role in this MGM musical, which won ALL nine of the Academy Awards for which it was nominated. Audrey Hepburn was recommended for the title role. Writer Alan Jay Lerner felt that Hepburn, who created the part on Broadway, was perfect for the role, too. But she declined the job as she was busy with other films.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Actor Robert Duvall is 79. Talk-show host Charlie Rose is 68. Actress Diane Keaton is 64. Actor Ted Lange ("The Love Boat") is 62. Drummer George "Funky" Brown of Kool and the Gang is 61. Guitarist Chris Stein of Blondie is 60. Actress Pamela Sue Martin ("The Poseidon Adventure," "Dynasty") is 57. Actor Clancy Brown ("Highlander," voice of Mr. Krabs on "SpongeBob SquarePants") is 51. Actress Suzy Amis ("Titanic") is 48. Drummer Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson) is 44. Singer Marilyn Manson is 41. Actress January Jones ("Mad Men") is 32. Actor Garette Patrick Ratliff ("Return to Blue Lagoon") is 30.
