Back
Bay
Closing in fashion
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| Hand-painted murals and signs are just a few of the personal
touches that make this Back Bay book store unique. |
“We have always had a store that was eclectic in nature,” said
McCaffrey, who opened his doors to the Back Bay and its reading
public in October 1975. “We always have made an effort to
carry the out-of-print work of good authors, and this became our
reputation over the years and we grew and did well.”
The store did well until about three years ago when it was forced
to move because the rental taxes on its original store became too
high. Employees packed up in 2002 and moved the store 200 feet
down the block to its current and what will be its final home at
353 Newbury St.
The new landlord, the Johnson family, rents the current space
at a reduced price because it likes the store and what it brings
to the community. But customers did not follow after Avenue Victor
Hugo moved down the block.
“The reading public didn’t come back to us after the
move, and our sales have been down half of what they were prior
to the move,” said McCaffrey. “Even at the reduced
overhead we had here, it wasn’t sufficient.”
“A man who does not read good books has no advantage
over the man who can’t.” -Mark Twain- |
McCaffrey can’t put his finger on one specific reason why
his regular customers didn’t come back, or why a rare and
used bookstore that has found business in the Back Bay for almost
three decades lost its core support.
“Most of the business has always been regulars, and that
is partly why we have lost so much business,” said McCaffrey. “The
regulars have left and the Back Bay has changed into a different
community.”
Avenue Victor Hugo’s neighbors on Newbury street are Diesel,
Newbury Comics, Virgin, Sonsie, Skechers, Steve Madden, The Puma
Store, and of course, a Starbucks. Further down the shopping metropolis
of Newbury are stores such as Emporio Armani, The Gap, Brooks Brothers,
Nike, Betsey Johnson and other chain stores that can be found in
cities all over America.
“Students buying books off the Internet, the transient nature
of the community and the number of people that live here that are
more into fashion than reading means this is not a valuable store
here anymore,” said McCaffrey. But he doesn’t blame
the students because they have always been in Back Bay and make
up a good percentage of Boston’s population.
McCaffrey, a resident of Brookline, pointed to other local bookstores
that have survived as institutions in their communities. “The
bookstore in Coolidge Corner in Brookline, where the rents are
horrible, has survived because they have a community around them,” said
McCaffrey.
Brookline Booksmith, a local bookstore in Brookline, has kept
its doors open for over 43 years.
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