Brilliant Books has announced it will close it's Suttons Bay store.
/ Courtesy: Brilliant Books
SUTTONS BAY -- Brilliant Books has announced it will close it's Suttons Bay store.
Announcing the decision on their Facebook page, owner Peter Makin said: "We are all devastated, especially Amalia Venturi, who worked so hard to make the store look so good over the past nine months. But there is nothing we can do. The landlord has decided he doesn't want to lease the building to us and has told us we must be out by the end of March."
"We were surprised," says Operations Manager, Heather Mork. "Because honestly we figured Suttons Bay needs a book store. It needs a really good book store and we were happy to fill that roll."
The landlord tells 7&4 News that the two parties couldn't agree on a price to renew, and that in the end it was a business decision.
Comments of condolence have filled their Facebook page calling the news "heartbreaking."
"We're known as 'Your Long Distance Local Bookstore'," Makin said. "We pride ourselves on keeping in touch with our seasonal visitors, who remain our customers all year."
Makin stresses that the closure of the Suttons Bay store will not affect shipments, as they are already handled by the Traverse City location. Within one hour of the announcement on Facebook, an anonymous customer from the East Coast offered to buy the store's entire children's section, with plans to donate the books to charity.
Makin describes the offer as "unbelievable."
"This helps us out of a huge inventory jam, while at the same time doing something wonderful for others, Makin said.
Still, community members are sad to see the local treasure leave.
"I was upset because I've been coming here since it opened, says customer, Christopher Carlson. "My whole family comes here. It's been kind of a tradition."
Makin vowed that he will "explore all options" to return to Suttons Bay.
"It's where we started," Makin said. "It's where we belong."
The Traverse City location will remain open.
