The Book House, a Maplewood book store that opened in December 2013, needs $10,000 by the end of June or it may be forced to close for legal reasons, according to the Indiegogo fundraising campaign it started on Thursday.
Owner, Michelle Barron, says they’re “up against a hard deadline, and a cash flow crunch which could jeopardize everything we have worked so hard to create.”
After operating in Rock Hill for 30 years the store was force out when its location, a century-old home, was demolished for a new development. Barron moved to 7352 Manchester Road in Maplewood.
She says the move to the new location, which had been unoccupied for almost 20 years, incurred “enormous” costs to move and to meet building and fire code requirements at the new location.
Barron says business has been great, but higher rent, a larger payroll, higher tax payments, initial orders with authors and publishers, taxes and construction costs have added up. She says they are meeting their operating costs and slowly paying off debt.
“But now we are up against a deadline and a bill of over $10,000 in past due expenses that MUST BE PAID before the end of June, or we may be forced to close for legal reasons.” (caps and italics are Barron’s)
Contribute to The Book House here.