Crew of the Shipwrecked Alice at the Taylor Hotel, 1909
When we owned the Bookvendor in Long Beach there wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t hear, “Oh! I’ve always wanted to own a bookstore!” And there would ensue a romantic fantasy that involved meeting a constant stream of intellectually stimulating book-lovers and countless opportunities for delving into the pages of fascinating new books. Oh… and not to forget the purring cat basking in the window.
Fast forward to the here and now and the perfect opportunity for all those booklovers is available! Adelaide’s Coffee and Books, located in the venerable Taylor Hotel building in Ocean Park, is looking for a buyer. Proprietors, Katy and Joel Uram, will be closing the doors at the end of the month unless ‘an interested party’ appears in the meantime.
Adelaide’s at the
Taylor Hotel, by Jean Stamper
Regular customers (like Nyel and myself) were devastated at the news which came from Cyndy Hayward back at the beginning of August. In an email to Adelaide’s supporters and friends, she said, “As most of you know, I sold the business to Joel and Katie, three years ago now. Five months ago they became the parents of twins! They have decided that they cannot reasonably run a small business by themselves and raise these boys, and it is not optimal for them to hire staff to do so.”
While Joel and Katy own Adelaide’s, Cyndy still owns the building. The fondest desire of the three of them is to find a way to keep the books and coffee business intact, but Cyndy is open to any possibility, including selling the Taylor Hotel, itself. Surely, there is someone ‘out there’ who could make the here-and-now reality of Adelaide’s Books and Coffee become the answer to their own prayers! Help spread the word!
Meanwhile, we are ramping up our visits, drinking in the ambience of our only local Books and Coffee establishment. So are lots of others. It has definitely become a community gathering place and it’s hard to imagine ‘civilized living’ without it!
Sorry to read this. It’s been too far away for us to enjoy, but every closing of a book store is a chip at civilization.