Globe Corner Bookstore in Cambridge, Mass., is the latest Boston-area bookstore to go on the market due to the illness of one of its owners. Earlier this month New England Mobile Book Fair in Newton Highlands announced that it is selling its bookstore as well, in part because of health issues.
But Globe Corner, a 28-year-old travel book and specialty store, is much smaller than the Book Fair, and co-owner Patrick Carrier plans to handle the sale himself instead of going through a broker. “It made sense for us to explore doing something more quickly,” says Carrier, who is exiting the business because of a seizure disorder. “In a different economic climate we would possibly not be doing this. We could hire someone to do what I do.”
In addition to the bricks-and-mortar bookstore in the heart of Harvard Square, Carrier and his wife, Harriet Carrier, also maintain an active Internet catalog at www.globecorner.com, which continues to be a dominant presence in the online travel retail niche. The Carriers are looking to sell both businesses as a package or will sell the bookstore separately along with the Web address, if a prospective owner would prefer to rebuild the site.
Already two potential buyers have stepped forward. In one case, it is someone that the Carriers reached out to. In the other, a prospective buyer approached them. Those interested in purchasing the store can contact Pat Carrier at: at 617.647.5700 x25 or at pcarrier@gcb.com.
