Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café "will stay in its current location for at least three more years," the Washington Post reported, adding that the announcement by owner Steve Salis may ease "the wave of grief and nostalgia that swept through the neighborhood after he had earlier announced his intent to move the store" out of Dupont Circle, where it has been since 1976.
"We are not imminently leaving tomorrow. We will most likely be there for six years, and just to be clear, that is when our lease ends. But we will leave no sooner than three years," said Salis, adding that despite the reports in May, he never planned to leave the current location this year.
What has changed is his short-term vision for the store, "thanks in part to the outpouring of support for Kramerbooks after fears that it would soon disappear from Dupont," the Post noted.
"It really just hit me like wow," he said. "I got to a place where I said, 'We need to do something because when people come back, I want them to feel a sense of excitement and rejuvenation.' "
His decision to proceed with modest renovations is also motivated by updates to a long-drawn-out legal battle and sputtering business amid the pandemic, the Post wrote. Salis and the landlord, Pete Hiotis with Cadence Management, recently settled their dispute and established parameters for renovations, which are now underway and "will rebrand the restaurant and bar and add a breakfast bar, inspired by what had been a Kramer's staple in the early 1980s.... Later this year, Salis plans to introduce a flower and plant shop in the northern building and a barbershop to fill an upstairs space previously used for private events," the Post wrote.
He is also exploring options to expand Kramerbooks to other locations across the District. "We are talking to people and schematically looking at places with the intention of doing something," he said, adding that he would make sure to maintain the "quirky" spirit of the store in all renovations and potential moves.