Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin May
I was in the store last week and he is very happy with the location and the sales. It is just as cluttered as the previous store. He says it is a good location as many customers are not from central Halifax, the rent is cheaper, he has parking at his door and he has a a large on line customer base. The interesting part of our conversation focused on his views on the decline of locally owned business in downtown Halifax, and rising rents pushing small business to other parts of the peninsula and Dartmouth.
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I probably bought about $500+ worth of books there over the years as a student. Since he left downtown, I haven't been back. Happy to hear he's doing fine.
Rents downtown are naturally going to rise, that's an inevitable product of economic growth. It means we're making progress. If Barrington is a dump, rents are going to be low. They're going to go up, because it's in the process of a re-birth.
But the book shop could have easily moved to an off street, or closer to the north end, where rent is cheaper. Still would have gotten foot traffic, and gaining windfall from online sales. It is what it is.