Bay Books on Coronado Island in San Diego, Calif., is facing an uncertain future because of new landlords Kleege Enterprise, the San Diego Tribune reported. Kleege Enterprise, which purchased nearly an entire block of Coronado's Orange Avenue for $22 million last year, initially told Bay Books owner Angelica Ayala Muller that her rent would increase by close to three-fold.
Muller told the Tribune that after an initial panic, she made a counter-offer to Kleege Enterprise, where Bay Books would keep its current rent but cut its square footage in half. Bruce Kleege, owner of Kleege Enterprise, has said that he would prefer that the 28-year-old bookstore remain somewhere on the block, but no agreements have been finalized and negotiations are ongoing.
Kleege Enterprise intends to create an "inside-out" concept for the block with "walkways that people can use to get from Orange Avenue to an open courtyard in the middle of the block," and the company plans for an assortment of high-end restaurants to be the development's main draw. While some existing business will stay, other long-standing businesses, among them a towing garage, a boutique gift store and a Mexican restaurant, have either already left or will leave once their current leases expire.
In the meantime, Muller told the Tribune that she is hesitant to begin ordering for 2019 with the store's future so uncertain. Bay Books is the South Bay's only bookstore, and Muller worried that there is more at stake than another local business closing.
"What message are we sending to new generations?" Muller wondered. "If we don't teach our children to read, to question, to explore knowledge, we're doomed."