The NeverEnding Story Reaches an End
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By Wendy Werris -- Publishers Weekly, 1/16/2009 10:05:00 AM
Las Vegas’s only indie children’s bookstore, The NeverEnding Story, closed its doors on December 24 after serving the desert community for three years, co-owner Jennifer Graves reported.
Graves and her partner Kimberly Diehm, both former librarians, cite the bleak economy as the primary reason for the store’s failure. “We started feeling it as long ago as March of last year,” Graves said. “And then summer, which is traditionally a slow time for us in Las Vegas, was absolutely dead.”
The NeverEnding Story featured popular author signings and events and was successful with its three book clubs: Boys Book Club (ages 10–13), Girls Book Club (8–12) and Rainbow Magic Book Club (ages 5–8). Until last spring it never lacked for customers, and boasted 1,800 names in its email database.
The store, however, suffered from a lack of support from a community that is still grappling with the value of independent businesses. “Unlike Portland or Seattle, Las Vegas has a long way to go in terms of developing a ‘buy local’ consciousness,” Graves said. She and Diehm were excited about the ABA’s IndieBound initiative, and implemented many of its marketing tools in its 1,200 square-foot store. While some customers took note of the message to support indies, a broader awareness was never achieved. “In the end, the transient nature of Las Vegas was an impediment to the growth of The NeverEnding Story,” Graves added.
The store’s closing leaves its owners with bittersweet feelings. Extremely proud of what they accomplished during the three years The NeverEnding Story was open, including putting the right books into people’s hands, helping children learn the joys of reading, and imparting the importance of independent businesses to their customers, Graves said, “But our hearts are broken. The store was our baby. We don’t have any regrets, but we wish we could have survived longer than we did.”
Hoping to return to their former lives as librarians, Graves and Diehm are now in the process of interviewing for jobs. “We’ll be attending BEA in New York this year,” Graves said, “this time as librarians.”
They announced the store’s closing during the first week of December, and sold virtually every book in stock that month while holding a storewide sale. “People even bought the fixtures,” Graves said. “Everyone wanted a piece of the store. One little boy came up to me and said, ‘But what’s going to be my favorite store now?’ We made a mark in the book business, and Kimberly and I are very grateful to our customers.”
