Classic Bookshop in Palm Beach, Fla., is closing this week after 49 years in business, the Palm Beach Post reported. The bookstore's last day of operation was June 10. Owner Jeffrey Jacobus, who purchased the store in 1992, is packing up remaining merchandise in advance of having to vacate the storefront at 310 S. County Rd. by June 15. He plans to move out today or Saturday, depending on how the packing goes.
Jacobus told the Palm Beach Post he was unable to discuss the reasons for the closure, but the newspaper noted that other businesses in the area and throughout Palm Beach have relocated or closed recently due to "rising operating costs, seasonal challenges, and lease uncertainty."
Jacobus added that he is not sure what the future holds for the bookstore and whether it will reopen in a new space. "Everything's still up in the air. Nobody's come up with an answer yet."
He went on to describe the closure as bittersweet, saying: "I've got a lot of people trying to help me get into another spot. But just to leave this--there's so many people. We went through four generations of families in this spot. It's a little hard to deal with."
Classic Bookshop's closure comes only a short while after the closure of Palm Beach Book Store in late April. Per the Palm Beach Post, this leaves the community without a general-interest bookstore, though there is the luxury book boutique Assouline and a rare and antiquarian store called Raptis Rare Books.