Inkwood Books, Tampa, Fla., will close March 31 after more than 25 years in business. In an announcement of the impending closure posted on Facebook, owner Stefani Beddingfield and her staff wrote: "There's lots of reasons, but we're going to use the next month or so to post good memories and positive messages.... while we wait for Tom Hanks to come rescue us... just kidding.... Bringing a bottle of wine and funny cards aren't necessary but much appreciated! We have loved being your booksellers. Love, Stefani, Toni and Austin."
Beddingfield, who purchased the business in 2013 from co-founders Carla Jimenez and Leslie Reiner, told the Tampa Bay Times that when she moved the store to Tampa Heights in 2017, she had hoped the area's multiplying restaurants and other businesses would help give the bookstore momentum. Though author events drew crowds, daily foot traffic never developed. Recently, her landlord informed her another tenant had expressed interest in the property.
"I thought, you know, it might just be time," she said. "I hope someone else does it. I think the location could be great, but it's not there yet, and I just ran out of the finances to hang on.”
Citing competition from Amazon as another factor in her decision, Beddingfield said, "If you wonder what's happening to bookstores, ask yourself what the last 12 books you bought were, and where did you buy them."
Asked about her future plans, she said she isn’t sure yet, adding: "Maybe nothing for a while."
Julie Beddingfield, Stefani's sister, owns "sister store" Inkwood Books in Haddonfield, N.J., which opened in 2015.