Van Nuys bookstore writes its final chapter

After being open for over six decades, the business is set to close in the coming future.

by Ava Rosate / Originally featured in The Valley Star News

Down a small side street in a quiet part of Van Nuys, the second oldest business in the city stands –– Bargain Books. But the shop won’t stand forever, as the owners prepare for the anticipated closure of the community cherished store.

Since 1958, over 75,000 new, used and collectible books have been calling the archaic store home. The store is family run and always has been, according to Bill Wirt, the store’s owner. Bill has owned the store since 1975, when he and his sister took the reins from their parents and took the initiative to buy the place. At its prime, about 15 years ago, the store stocked 200,000 books. As of January 2020, the store has not taken in any more books in efforts to reduce their inventory.

“We are a family here,” said Kamilla Kurmanbekova, a customer since 2020 who began video documenting the timeline of the closure. “There is historical value in this building and it is heartbreaking to see them close — there are many people that are emotionally invested (in the store).”

The antiquarian store is set to close in eight months. According to Bill, after all the books are gone, the store will close. The 64-year old store is trying to minimize their collection with every effort, by halting intake and marking their prices down to 50 percent off all books. After the half priced books haven’t sold and have been in the system for a while, they are marked down to one dollar. If they are still not sold, they are donated to Discover Books, an organization who re-sells them in a new market.

After six decades in business, Bill and his family had the idea to close before the pandemic due to competition and the overwhelming workload it takes to run a bookshop. When COVID hit, they were unable to host a liquidation sale to rummage their inventory of thousands of texts.

Bill started listing books online with Amazon in the late 90’s, when Amazon started as an online bookstore. Now, the same place he started out online selling has become one of his top competitors.

“It’s a lot of work to run and manage a bookstore,” said Bill about the foreseeable closure of his store. “We just can’t compete with Amazon who lists a book for $5 when we have it for 40.”

The old fashioned store hasn’t changed much over the decades, it still sits under two apartments that haven’t been occupied by anyone since Bill moved out during college. Now, the space is home to books that line the walls and are stacked to the ceiling.

The news of the closure has sparked a community initiative, where new and long-time customers visit often to support by purchasing books and offering a helping hand where it is needed.

“Going to book events and meeting old time bookkeepers, listening to stories from customers — this place has been a lot of fun,” Bill said.