Abril Bookstore, an Armenian bookstore and cultural center in Glendale, Calif., is moving to a new, smaller location, the Mirror-Spectator reported. Owner Arno Yeretzian will be moving the bookstore from its home of more than 20 years to a 1,100-square-foot space in a shopping center filled with other Armenian businesses. Because of the reduction in space, the store and cultural center will no longer have an attached art gallery.
Abril Bookstore dates back to 1978. It grew out of Abril Printing and Publishing, which Yeretzian's parents founded in 1977 as Abril, the first Armenian-language magazine in Los Angeles. The bookstore opened a year later in an adjacent storefront on Sunset Boulevard. Abril was known for importing Armenian titles from the Soviet Union and became a community center for L.A.'s Armenian population. In 1998 the bookstore moved from Hollywood to Glendale.
In 2019, Abril Bookstore and the attached Roslin Gallery became part of Yeretzian's Siramarg Cultural Center Foundation. Prior to the pandemic, Abril hosted weekly movie nights and music nights in addition to other events. After reopening following the mandatory shutdown, Yeretzian said he was heartened to see a lot of new customers stop by.
"That gives me a hope, a purpose to continue to work," he told the Mirror-Spectator. "I can still have a healthy business, but not with that rent in this building."
In the last few weeks before the move, Yeretzian will hold a clearance sale.