Olivieri bookstore closes up shop
It’s never good news when a bookstore goes out of business: Librairie Olivieri, on Côte‑des‑Neiges, is closed.
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Kate
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JP 22:41 on 2020-04-28 Permalink
A guy took me out on a date to their bistro last fall. It didn’t work out between us, but I liked it there and had hoped to go back. I know it was owned by Renaud Bray and that there is a Renaud Bray store across the street too, but it does indeed suck to lose another bookstore.
Ian 07:44 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
That’s interesting – are there other “independent” stores owned by Renaud-Bray that you know of?
That’s a great, if somewhat manipulative branding strategy.
Michael Black 08:07 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
Paragraphe Books was owned by Archambault at some point and then it and other stores were bought by Renaud-Bray. So maybe that’s when this store came under the chain too.
I had to look because I did remember Paragraphe was bought but remained “independent”, but wasn’t sure of who bought it.
There is precedence. I forget the name, but there was a nice book store in Ottawa which eventually opened in Les Cours Mont Royal in the late eighties. It kept the name until it eventually closed, but it was actually owned by Chapters which maybe was still Coles at that point. The few stores may have even been owned by Chapters by the time it opened in Montreal. But its ownership was kept quiet.
Kate 10:17 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
Ian, what independent bookstores even still exist? The stores for new books that are still around are either chains or pretty small, like L’Écume des jours, which used to be on St‑Viateur but moved up to Villeray when priced out by the owners of the street. I don’t think they were ever bought out. Argo Books amazingly is still going. I doubt Heather Reisman feels they’re a thorn in her side.
Michael Black 10:37 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
Most of the time it seems like “used book stores” are conflated with “independent book stores” .
But I think the new-book store on Queen Mary is still there. Babaar Books for children is still around, even if they closed the outlet on Greene. There’s a store in Montreal West that I think is new-books, but maybe specifically children’s. I think there’s at least one in Pointe Claire, but I’m not certain.
jeather 10:41 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
There’s a new one in St Henri (Librarie St Henri Books). There’s a tiny one on Queen Mary a bit west of Decarie (Bibliophile). Argo Books, as you noted. Drawn & Quarterly, Appetite for Books, thre are one or two in Verdun — I’m not longer in the habit of finding books by browsing in store, but when I do, there are lots of options.
ottokajetan 10:47 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
Librarie du Square on Bernard is new-ish and nice
walkerp 13:48 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
You can order from Argo books online and they will deliver them to your door for a $5 fee.
A very nice service of which I have taken advantage during the pandemic shutdown.
CE 14:44 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
I just purchased a book from Argo. It’s always been one of my favourite bookstores. Librarie St Henri Books is worth checking out when they open again. It’s a very nice store with a great selection. There’s also a group of three stores with different names but all seem to be the same company (La Librairie de Verdun, Librairie Livresse in Little Burgundy, and Librairie Les passages in Lachine). I haven’t been to any of them but looked in the window of the shop in Little Burgundy and it seemed nice. Montreal is lucky to still have so many bookstores and we should support them as much as possible.
Kate 21:18 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
Librairie St-Henri really is nice. I discovered it when I was working down that way last year. I hope they come out of this OK – they’re around the corner from Notre-Dame so they’re a little out of sight, I find.
ottokajetan, I remember the Librairie du Square that was opposite Carré St-Louis – I suppose this one is a branch of it? I liked the vibe a lot, but to be honest, I don’t buy many French books.
In fact, I don’t buy many physical books at all any more. That’s part of the problem for the independents, I think: if I wanted a physical book I’d choose an independent, but if I want an ebook, it’s not likely the indie will be offering that service.
Michael Black 22:02 on 2020-04-29 Permalink
I remember when Paragraphe got into Ebooks early, almost thirty years ago. So you’d buy a PDA as a reader drop by the store to look over their limited selection, and bring home a package with the book. Or maybe that was just presentation, I remember a glass case with tye ebooks on display. And I have no idea what was in those boxes (which looked like how audio books were presented).