Frog Hollow finally croaks

Looks like Frog Hollow’s happy ending was short-lived. Though the financially strapped Halifax bookseller seemed poised for recovery after moving to a new location last June, owner Heidi Hallett sent a letter to media today saying that the store will close for good on Aug. 22:

Sales at Frog Hollow have dropped by 50 percent since 2003. After reviewing our second quarter sales, I had to make the gut wrenching decision that the business is no longer viable. While our move to Brenton Street resulted in an immediate increase in traffic and sales in June, it was simply not enough to see us through these incredibly difficult times.

Closing Frog Hollow is a decision that has been very difficult to make, but we have exhausted our options over the last year and a half. Anyone who has been following our story knows that closing is a last resort for us.

A clearance sale will be held from now until closing day. In her message, Hallett encouraged patrons to continue to support nearby indie booksellers Bookmark and Woozles.

Photos: Frog Hollow’s new home

According to Frog Hollow owner Heidi Hallett, being kicked out of Halifax’s Park Lane Mall was a blessing in disguise. The store’s new home, located just a few blocks away, is more airy and welcoming than the previous location, as can be seen in the pics below. (NOTE: Quillblog readers in the area would do well to stop by the store tomorrow – June 27 – to partake in its 25th anniversary celebrations.)

Tales of two bookstores

Independent bookstores seem to be getting a lot of lovin’ from the media this week, with two different stores receiving full-on profile treatment.

First up is Halifax’s Frog Hollow Books, profiled in The Globe and Mail. Actually, the piece isn’t so much a profile as a letter of advice. (It appears to be part of a regular series of business advice columns.) The author, Stephen Clare, expresses concern about the recent closure of other Atlantic Canadian shops – like The Book Room (also in Halifax) and Bennington Gate in St. John’s – and proceeds to offer up suggestions to Frog Hollow owner Heidi Hallett about how she can stay competitive. Most of the advice he offers is no-brainer stuff, however, and it kind of comes across as if he thinks he can tell Hallett things she doesn’t already know.

The second profile is of Toronto’s This Ain’t the Rosedale Library, in eye weekly. As Q&Q readers already know, the shop is set to close its Church Street doors at the end of this month, but the new incarnation – in the city’s Kensington Market neighbourhood – is set to open within the next week or so. The piece offers up an interesting timeline of the store’s various incarnations, which go all the way back to 1979.