All Over Albany

Northshire Bookstore Saratoga opening date

The Northshire Bookstore announced today that its new Saratoga Springs location will open August 5. The store is in the new building at 424 Broadway right in the middle of downtown Saratoga Springs (formerly the parking lot next to Lillian's.)

Northshire -- an independent bookstore that's had one other location in Manchester, Vermont, since 1976 -- has a very good reputation. So this is a pretty big deal for bookstore nerds.* And it fills the large-bookstore void in downtown Saratoga Springs created when Borders closed its location on Broadway (the old Borders building is now the home of a marketing company).

The way Northshire ended up in Saratoga Springs has an interesting backstory. From the press release announcing the opening date:

A community petition, circulated by Saratoga Springs resident Pat Friesen was the first impetus for Northshire Bookstore to consider opening a second store in the town. By the time it was sent to Vermont in July 2012, the petition ran to four pages, with dozens of local signatures. Said Friesen "the anticipation of Northshire's Saratoga opening is a dream coming true for all of us who began the process."

The new store is also supported by nearly forty local investors, who have gathered together to provide significant community funding for the new store.

Northshire already arranged one author event for Saratoga -- Neil Gaiman at the Saratoga City Center in June. And it has a schedule of author events lined up for August and September.

* We use that term lovingly, of course.

Earlier on AOA: Nicole explored the Vermont Northshire while visiting Manchester this past winter

photo: Northshire Bookstore FB