New England Mobile Book Fair Looks For New Home — Again

NEWTON, MA — The New England Mobile Book Fair on Needham Street has been more than a place to buy books throughout the past six decades, says owner Tom Lyons. It's a place where mystery book writers and aficionados come together each Christmas to celebrate, where the best New England writers are celebrated, and it's a building of "Yeses."

"There was this little girl, maybe 4," Lyons told Patch recently, recalling one of many moments he's seen at the store that encapsulate what the place means to customers and to himself. He remembers watching nearby as the little girl ran up to her mother with a book and asked her if she could have it.

"She really pleaded to get this book, and you could tell that the mother was used to saying 'no.' But her mother said 'yes.' And she grabbed the book, and she's dancing around with it. And her mother leaned down and said, 'This is a building of yesses,'" Lyons said, taking his glasses off and wiping a tear from his eyes.

But now, the future of the iconic bookstore — a fixture in the Newton area for more than a half-century — is up in the air as Lyons searches for a new home for the shop amid high rent and slumping sales.

"My mind spins constantly on: How do I make this work?" Lyons told Patch. "We may be here, or maybe after 65 years it goes away."

If that sound familiar, it's because this has happened before. Six years after the former insurance executive bought the shop in 2011 from its original owner, increased rent drove Lyons to search for a new home for it. Back then, one of its claims to fame was that it was the largest independent bookstore in New England. Despite its name — neither mobile nor a fair (the name comes from where it first got its books) — the shop was parked in a large warehouse on Needham Street. Where do you move the largest independent bookstore in New England?

But Lyons was able to make it work with the help of a local developer.

In 2017, he was forced to downsize his bookstore on Needham Street. When officials from Northland Development heard about his plight, they offered to help him with a space at the old Marshall's Shopping Plaza just blocks away. It was a temporary solution: A space was available there because tenants were moving out in preparation for a major, 22-acre redevelopment project to include housing, retail and office space, as part of an addition to the N2 Innovation District.
Lyons knew at the time it was temporary fix and worked to find ways to save money while looking for a permanent home for the store.

When he moved two years ago, he had to let go of 32 employees. He's now down to four. But between that painful layoff and an updated business model, he was able to cut his debt in half. Still, he said that when the AAA office moved out of the shopping plaza, so did traffic to his store. And with less staff, he has less time to market events — and fewer resources to help host annual award events or the annual mystery book writers party. He took up a second job driving for Uber 30 hours a week to help make ends meet and to pay the four employees he has left, all while looking for a new space. He's said he's open to having a silent partner or a consortium to help, but nothing has worked out so far.

Loyal customers have been supportive, but he is still competing with online shopping. And when customers who say they love the store still show up and mention they didn't know he moved, it doesn't build confidence.

"That move was 2½ years ago," Lyons said, shaking his head.

He has set up agreements with several area school districts: If they buy books in bulk from him, he gives them a discount. His profit margin is low, only 5 percent — although any bit helps — and he's able to sell the books often for less than their price on Amazon. But it's frustrating, he said, and it epitomizes the struggle when he hears that teachers often still just order in bulk from Amazon instead.

And now, in what feels like a blink of an eye, time is almost up. As the property gets closer to development, he says he needs to find a new space that works. And soon.

He's had calls from neighboring communities, but nothing has panned out. Lyons said he's eyeing a space in Davis Square in Cambridge.

"We are looking for a place to go that has a lot of traffic," he said. "And affordable rent."
There's the rub.

"It's been very difficult," he told Patch. "We have to go, or we have to close."

Still, he's hopeful. If he finds a landlord and space to set up — in Newton or beyond — he plans to start a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to restock books that he hasn't been able to afford recently and return to being a "building of yeses."

Previously:

New England Mobile Book Fair To Stay in Newton
New England Mobile Book Fair Opens Again

Newton To Hold Citywide Vote On Northland Project In March ...

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).