Dear friends,
At end of day Saturday, February 26, we will be closing Brown & Dickson’s downtown location for the final time. We’ll be working out of our Blackfriars location at 32 Albion St., and of course, we’re always available at brownanddickson.com.
This decision was not made quickly. We love downtown. We’ve both lived and worked in the core for over twenty years. We grew up in indie shops like ours, hanging around Layman House, Head 2 Head, the Coffee Grind, Ace Arcade, and APK. It’s always been our dream to be one of those names for the next generation.
However, we’ve heard from a lot of customers saying they no longer feel safe coming downtown. To be honest, we haven’t felt safe bringing our dogs to work for a while now, and we know we would not feel safe bringing our baby when she comes. Recently, while we were looking for new staff for the downtown location, we had viable candidates say no because they didn’t feel safe working in the core.
When you combine our concerns with those expressed by our customers, we came to the decision to prioritize family and security. When looked at through that lens, the decision should have been easy, but we have strongly held convictions that make this decision so much more difficult.
We believe that the solution to making the downtown a feasible place for businesses like ours lies with the city choosing to support marginalized people, to build the needed housing and provide the services that are desperately required. The neglect of these needs is murderous. We’ve gotten to know people in our community who are living without the basics of life, robbed of dignity, and it has to stop. So many of you are part of the solution. Please never stop the work you do. It means everything and we continue to want to be part of the solution.
We are refocusing our efforts on getting our bookmobile up and running and our new location in Blackfriars. In just a couple of months, we’ll have the flexibility to bring our joy of books to you, even to your front door. We’ll be looking for venues, whether it’s a festival, event, private business, or even your own driveway. The bookmobile will give us the flexibility to still be in your lives and also accommodate the needs of our growing family. Weirdly, we might be able to do what we do more effectively, whether it be selling books, building community, or hosting events, with our new location and bookmobile.
If you’ve been with us since the beginning you know that we always try to stay ahead of the curve. This change is just the most recent example of us finding the newest and most sustainable way to be booksellers and community organizers. We feel this move in our gut. We know it is the right thing to do.
This move is deeply bittersweet. Our downtown location (all of them, from the very beginning) has been such a source of happiness for both of us. Thinking about the magical nights of music and culture we’ve had there, we’re just astounded. We’ve met so many amazing writers and artists, seen so many incredible performances, and hosted gatherings of the most talented minds. That was all you, friends, and we are so honoured that we got to be a platform for your work. We plan on recreating that magic somewhere down the line, just like we did in our old twinkle light basement, just like we did with Kangaroo Variety, just like we did in the alleyway of the Bud Gowan building, and just like we did those magical evenings in Victoria Park with brown bags and good company at Home County.
So in the spirit of Christian Slater in the essential 90s film Pump Up the Volume, we’re going mobile. We hope you come along for the ride. It will be an exciting one, we promise.
Much love,
Jason and Vanessa
