Great opportunity for a semi-retired bibliophile (or young buck life hacker who values quality of life) to become an owner operator of a brick & mortar used book store with an upstairs apartment library + mini warehouse for online selling. Live amongst books as if in a literary fever dream. 

You’re probably not going to get Bezos rich with this small shop but TOTAL rent for all three here (commercial space + no commute housing + one floor storage) is cheaper than say a New York Manhattan apartment. 

Asking Price: $15,000*

Full inventory of ultra curated books, professional fixtures to start immediately, rvabookstore.com website + social media. *Possible wiggle room for build out, negotiation, etc. 

Rent: 

$3,000 per month (THREE floors including 2nd floor apartment).  Billboard sign on busy rush hour street. Long stable lease available with modest cost of living adjustments. 

823 square feet per floor x 3 = 2,469 sqft total (see floor plan & pics)

Location: 

102 N 8th Street (x Franklin) Richmond, VA 23219

Historic downtown Richmond one block from the Governor’s mansion & Virginia General Assembly. Walking distance to pretty much everything including Virginia Commonwealth University, the Virginia State Library, Federal Court Houses, Federal Reserve, the James River, & all the fine arts venues & music theaters. Right on public transportation. One block from synergy businesses like Subway restaurant & an independent coffee shop. And so many new downtown condos popping up everywhere (readers!). See Richmond, Virginia accolades.

Prologue:

Due to health reasons, I cannot launch this book store concept at this time. Since COVID, I have been continually adding to an already impressive retail startup book inventory (“virgin stock”).

Inventory & Fixtures:

All fixtures are professional metal bookshelves from the now defunct chain LifeWay Christian Books (see pics). Lots of surplus shelves for expansion & parts. Also various book carts, dollies & display slatwall. Apple desktop computer for inventory.

The crown jewel here is the book inventory. Since the space is small, it has to be all good titles with no filler.  Highly curated books with a heavy emphasis on classic, modern classic & cult literature: Penguin black/deluxe classics, Folio, Library of America, Modern Library, NYRB, even some Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics & more. The fiction inventory is rounded out by a nice collection of graphic novels & science fiction. 

The nonfiction focus is on Virginia & Black History + Civil War (tourism central location). There’s a great collection of art & coffetable books. A top notch Cookbook section. Pop culture (music, film, fashion, architecture, culture). And more (business, philosophy, politics/urban design, religion). 

Some curated vintage & first editions (all genre). 

Full access to book database for qualified buyers. To get an idea of titles, see the Instagram. 

(Inventory & fixtures only might be considered later if I can’t find a buyer)

Training: 

Willing to train buyer on the art of book sourcing, literally the lifeblood of this business. More importantly, I am also willing to continue to book scout for the new owner for desired wholesale titles (If you eat, I get rent with no headache). If requested, will also build a social media & pr campaign that builds on the grand opening anticipation of all these great titles entering the market. 

Growth & Expansion: 

Lots of different ways to add to revenue streams. Adding rare & collectible titles for online selling (Abebooks, eBay and or Amazon). Many higher end books are included in purchase price. The third floor is completely vacant & would be perfect for an online ‘warehouse.’ Plenty of commercial shelving included to expand (see above). You could add products like vinyl records, movies, or board games if so inclined. A remote working professional especially a writer or coder might view this as an intriguing side by side gig (office work space retail library). Let your mind run wild.

Call or Text 804.220.1212 or email rvabookstore@gmail.com to chat