Area bookshop may close

After a little more than three years of operation, a local bookstore has lost its lease and might be forced to relocate or close for good.

Branch’s Chapel Hill Bookshop, owned and operated by Kate Branch, has been located in Village Plaza on Elliott Road for about three years.

But Friday, Branch found out in a phone call with the store’s landlord, Mark Properties, that the store had officially lost its lease.

Because Branch was out of the state in January caring for her sick grandfather, the store fell behind on its rent.

When Branch’s grandfather passed away, she returned to her store, which was already in trouble for the late payments.

She said she negotiated a payment plan with the landlord and was working on a negotiation for reduced rent.

But after a check bounced, she sent the landlord an envelope containing payment replacing the bad check and other payments.

Two weeks later, the envelope was returned to her because it had insufficient postage.

Branch now owes about $92,000 in rent.

“The landlord is being really vague,” she said. “As long as I keep paying $2,000 a week, they will give us time for an orderly liquidation.”

Mark Properties, a Durham-based company, recently fired almost all the employees Branch had dealt with.

On Friday, the company also revoked Branch’s payment plan and rent decrease and added back late fees.

“After a five-minute phone call, I owed $50,000 more,” Branch said.

Since the store announced the loss of its lease, Branch has seen much concern from locals.

“We’ve had such an outpouring of community support — it’s amazing,” she said.

One form of support for the store will come from Cartoonists Across America, a pro-literacy group based in California.

Richard Dinges, vice president of the organization, said the group first contacted Branch’s to set up one of its pro-literacy tours.

Two days later, when members visited the shop’s Web site, they were shocked to see the store was in trouble.

“We talked about it and decided we want to help out by doing an event for them,” Dinges said.

The planned event will be a fund-raiser tied together with the pro-literacy campaign.

“We want to focus on the plight of the shop owner,” he said. “I really like the people there, and it’s a shame they are going to get pushed out because of some landlord issue.”

Branch said a group of authors is also planning a benefit.

“If all that works out, we might be able to stay here,” she said.

Many customers are upset that one of the few independently owned bookstores in town is in jeopardy.

“I appreciate having a locally owned bookstore and would like to see it stay,” said Jane Hare, a Chapel Hill resident and a customer at the bookstore since its opening.

“They have features you don’t find at larger franchise stores. It has a more personal touch.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.