Sadly bookstores are becoming a thing of the past. A Seaport Village fixture for 35 years, Upstart Crow Bookstore & Coffee House took to its social media this week to announce that it will close for business at the end of the month.
Named after an insulting label placed on William Shakespeare by a competing playwright, Upstart Crow is a café, bookseller and gift shop owned by Lila Abed where San Diegans and visitors alike would come to sip and sit amongst towering shelves of books for over three decades. The coffeeshop and bookstore was known for hosting frequent live readings, music and entertainment. The San Diego location of Upstart Crow Bookstore was the only one of nine outposts of the Berkeley-based chain to survive the company's abrupt 1987 bankruptcy, which forced a second San Diego branch within University Towne Center to shutter. Another location of the same name and style is located in Universal CityWalk, Los Angeles, but it is separately owned.
Ownership cites the reason for the closure as being, at least partly, motivated by the incoming redevelopement of Seaport Village by The Port of San Diego in combination with increased rent and decreased sales. There is no word yet on the last day of business for Upstart Crow, but in addition to closing their brick-and-mortar store, they will also be ending their online business.
For more information, visit upstartcrowtrading.com and stop in to enjoy a book and a cup of coffee at one of San Diego's last remaining bookstores, located at 835 W Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego.
For more information, visit upstartcrowtrading.com and stop in to enjoy a book and a cup of coffee at one of San Diego's last remaining bookstores, located at 835 W Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego.
