Community Reaction: Borders Books Loved by Many

Now, after nearly 4,000 days as an employee of , Barry Robinson knows the day is coming when he and about 40 co-workers will no longer be able to walk through the familiar doors of the Randall Road store.

"This has been a place where you can find the most good-natured customers—who loved us as much as we loved them," he said.

Robinson, the store's inventory supervisor, has been working at the Geneva Borders location for 11 years.  

While the bookstore is still open for another two to six weeks, Robinson said, the cafe will be closed by the time you read this. On Thursday, while a judge was giving the go-head for the company's liquidation, Tri-Cities residents gathered at the Borders cafe, studying, listening to music, reading books and talking about the store that's become a gathering place for book lovers and neighborhood friends.

"It's like a pub for people who don't drink," Robinson said.

Halle and Ali Marten, along with their cousins Taylor and Tessa Doczyk, are among the regulars.

"We'll miss it," Halle said. "We live within walking distance, and we've had many study sessions here."

Ray and Kate Smith of Geneva cruised by in their convertible, just returning from a two-week vacation to find strange things happening, including a completely cleaned out Blockbuster store on Randall Road and the confirmed rumors of a failing Borders.

"Our routine is pizza and a movie from Blockbuster, but I guess it's Netflix from now on," Ray said.

A changing multimedia landscape and a variety of competitive distribution options have been named as reasons for the demise of superstore giants like Blockbuster and Borders. Robinson's take is a little more philosophical, and his voice trails off as he ticks off the bullet points of what might have gone wrong for Borders.

"I really think the failure is due to many things—poor decisions, being behind the e-book curve, a poor economy … " 

Kate Smith, a teacher, cruised by Borders on Tuesday to cash in on some gift cards. Borders announced Friday that all Borders Bucks will be honored through July 31 and gift cards will be honored "for the entire sale event."

Borders is announcing immediate savings of 40 percent.

Some of the local bookstore business will go to nearby , 102 Commons Drive. Barnes & Noble representative Mary Ellen Keating said she had “no comment” regarding the Borders liquidation or the future of the Geneva Barnes & Noble.

David Hunt, the owner of 37-year-old Town House Books in St. Charles, said the key to survival will be personal service and finding a niche.

He said Town House offers a greater depth in book stock, a variety of mid-list authors and an expanded restaurant "where we smoke our own meat, offer fresh-made soups every day and bake our own desserts.”

“As a book seller, we don’t relish in the fact that so many will lose their jobs," he said. "But in the last year or so, we suspected this might be coming. (We knew) big-box stores might go under in an unstable climate where we're all competing for customers."

Hunt said Town House Books will offer a 20 percent, one-time discount on an entire purchase to anyone who has unredeemed Borders gift cards. He said the offer would be good until the end of August.

"The good thing is, books are affordable gifts," he said. "We believe in our hearts that the book is going to stay alive, and we are along for the ride."