Business & Tech

Final Hours For Borders in Brandon; Poster-Board Postings Lament Bookstore's Closing

Discounts are steep for the remaining books at the Borders in Brandon, where earlier this year poster boards were hung on which patrons and workers paid their final respects. The signs have since been taken down, but the memories — and pictures — remain.

The vigil is underway as the final chapter gets written for the Borders in Brandon, which is open for its last full day of business today, April 19, until 10 p.m.

Liquidators said at the store last night that they expect the store to open for a few hours April 20, from 10 a.m. to around 1 p.m.

Sales were running from 80 to 90 percent off, with “make- us an-offer” pricing for remaining bookshelves and fixtures.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The café has long been barren of food, drinks, tables and chairs, and stripped recently were the nearby poster boards that were hanging on which patrons scribbled their thoughts and goodbyes to a bookstore that leaves them with fond memories.

“I remember all of the laughter and fun I used to have here looking at books and spending time with my mom,” wrote Jasmine.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Mimi thanked the staff for treating her like family. “I enjoyed all of the wonderful experiences I got to have with all of you,” she wrote. “You guys are like family and I will miss you dearly. Here’s hoping for a better beginning.”

For Borders, the closing of its Brandon store culminates in the coming together of megatrends shaping the future of things that were.

As on Brandon Patch, Borders is undergoing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a reorganization that includes the closing of some 200 superstores nationwide, including the two superstores on Dale Mabry Highway and 14 other Florida stores.

Losing the Brandon store hit hard for faithful fans, including Ryan, who wrote: “For four years Borders has been my home away from home. In some ways the café crew has been like second family. God bless you guys. So sorry to see you go.”

“It’s sad, but it’s how times are changing,” Jeremy Hunt of South Tampa said at the Brandon Borders on the day its future closing was announced. “A lot of people are losing jobs and have less money to spend.”

Moreover, he added, it’s a sign of the times: “Less paperback, more Kindle.”

Indeed, Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, reported Jan. 27 that the company was selling more Kindle books than paperback books. At the time, he said, “for very 100 books Amazon has sold, the company has sold 115 Kindle books.”

In competition with the Kindle, Borders and Barnes & Noble have their own eReaders, the Kobo and the Nook, respectively.

Still, there is something to be said about the bricks and mortar of a freestanding bookstore, and some of those reflections made their way to the farewell poster-board postings at the Borders in Brandon.

“We are so sad,” wrote one woman. “I taught my grandson to love reading here. We came every Friday night.”

“Thank you for the chocolate shavings,” wrote one youngster, who punctuated the message with the shapes of hearts. “I wish you didn’t close. Thank you for the books. Thank you for the games.”

Paul Winchell, a self-proclaimed “book lover and coffee drinker,” wrote his message in large type in the center of one of the poster boards.  He noted what would happen “when the last book is sold” and “the lights turned off."

He posted his message Feb. 17, the day after it was announced that the Brandon Borders would be closing its doors for good.

“We will remember this place,” Winchell wrote. This community. It will [be] missed.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here