Founded in 2011 by two former Borders booksellers, the Book Frog, Torrance, Calif., is closing this week. The Book Frog had moved last December from its original location in the Promenade on the Peninsula mall in Rolling Hills Estates--a dying mall--to a center that included a Kohl's, a Party City, a restaurant and other shops. But "when you sandwich an adorable little bookstore among a bunch of destination stores, most people get out of their cars, hit their chosen destination, then leave," said Rebecca Glenn, who owns the store with her husband, Pete Ledesma.
The landlord helped the pair by lowering the rent and letting them go month to month. But the landlord listed the 2,930-square-foot space, and after Glenn and Ledesma made the store look much more appealing, with "beautiful colors and lovely book cover posters and other artwork hanging on the walls," a dentist took a lease on the space.
Glenn indicated that she and Ledesma likely will put "everything in storage for the next few months. And during that time we'll regroup and try to figure out how to get the ball rolling again."