S.W. Welch gets concessions
S.W. Welch has just posted to Facebook: “My landlord has had a change of heart and we have negotiated the lease for two more years at which point I will retire. I went up a little and he went down a lot.The outpouring of love and concern by so many people to our plight has been amazing and in the end effective achieving this result, thank you!! I will endeavour to stock the store with unexpected titles, great reads and unusual finds and to this end I am actively buying.”
So public pressure does work, even on hearts as hard as Shiller-Lavy’s.
Now I’ve got to sort out some books to sell.
Anyone know if the read-in is still on? Update: Yes, it is, at least this is what I’m seeing on social media.
Jack 14:46 on 2021-03-08 Permalink
Nice
MarcG 15:05 on 2021-03-08 Permalink
Not to shit on a victory but this doesn’t do anything to shift power over neighbourhoods from real estate companies to the people who live there. I’m sure the same thing is happening all over to other businesses (and similarly to residents getting pushed out of rental units) – what’s to be done about those instances of this problem?
Kate 15:09 on 2021-03-08 Permalink
I’m hoping there will still be pressure for some control over commercial rents. Even if it’s pitched as a measure to help recovery from the pandemic at first, that should get people accustomed to the idea, and the people who were in it for huge profits can go invest in bitcoin or something instead.
walkerp 15:38 on 2021-03-08 Permalink
That is great news!
MarcG your concerns are valid. A positive approach is to look at this as an initial step that clearly demonstrates strong citizen unity on this issue. The next step is to make it a larger campaign to push government to change the laws. Continued social pressure on development companies will help as well. Lachez pas!
Meezly 15:41 on 2021-03-08 Permalink
My cynical heart thinks S-L didn’t like all the negative press and public opinion of them, so it’s really a matter of vanity and ego as a warming of their shrivelled hearts.
But it’s truly wonderful news. I’m quite overjoyed. It’s too bad that Welch plans to retire in 2 years, but at least he’s retiring more on his own terms. I will def frequent his store more often from now on while it’s there!
Blork 18:33 on 2021-03-08 Permalink
Don’t worry about being cynical, Meezly. There was almost certainly no warming of hearts here, just a matter of how much bad press S-L were willing to tolerate.