The Book Rack at 3501 Dayton Blvd. in Red Bank was due to close Wednesday after some 40 years in business.The Book Rack on Dayton Boulevard in Red Bank closed Wednesday after some 40 years in business.
The popularity of e-readers helped kill the bookstore that had an inventory of some 50,000 books, mostly paperbacks, including a large selection of romance novels.
"E-readers are what's doing me in," said Helen Aiken, who has owned the store for three years. "They're giving e-readers to grade-school kids now."
Aiken believes the Book Rack is the Chattanooga-area's oldest bookstore. She had worked at the bookstore for three years when longtime owner Linda Balis sold it to her three years ago for $1.
"We met at the bank, and I gave her $1," Aiken said.
The bookstore made enough to pay its rent and cover expenses, Aiken said, but didn't generate enough profit to pay Aiken much of a salary. So she announced at the end of November the Book Rack would close.
"I've got other things I have to do," Aiken said. "I'm just spread too thin."
She'll miss the customers who flocked to the store in its final days to say goodbye.
"It's been so much fun," Aiken said. "I loved doing it, and I loved meeting the people."
The Book Rack sold books at half their cover price, and Aiken said serious readers would purchase paperback books by the bag.
"There are people that buy grocery sacks at a time," she said.
On Wednesday, the price was only 50 cents a book.
Customers had to compete on the final day with about 15 volunteers from the Friends of the Chattanooga Public Library who came to box up the roughly 30,000 remaining books for storage in the basement of the main library downtown.
The books will go on sale at the Friends of the Library book sale at Eastgate Mall in Brainerd on March 12 through March 21. Adult hardcover books will cost $2 and paperbacks will be $1; children's books will cost $1 for hardcovers and 50 cents for paperbacks. Proceeds will help fund improvements at the library's branches.
"We're very appreciative," Friends of the Library Chairman William Sundquist said, who helped box up the books.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/Meets ForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.