Shakespeare & Co. To Return To Upper West Side

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The independent bookstore Shakespeare & Co. is planning to return to the Upper West Side more than 20 years after closing its previous store in the neighborhood, the company announced recently.

Shakespeare & Co. will open a 3,000-square-foot bookstore on 2020 Broadway, located between West 69th and 70th streets, sometime in the fourth quarter of 2018, a company executive said in a press release. The new store is part of Shakespeare & Co.'s ambitions to become a national brand, according to a press release.

The new store will feature a café with seating, Wi-Fi and a book machine where customers can self-publish works that the store may not have in stock, according to a press release. The store will also feature a curated selection of books that appeal to the local community.

"My vision for Shakespeare & Co. has always been to create the biggest little bookshop in the world." CEO Dane Neller said in a statement. "Each new bookstore should be rooted in the local community and offer a cultural sanctuary where customers can escape from their daily routines, turn off their smart phones, relax, unwind, and indulge in the luxury of reading."

Shakespeare & Co. also announced plans to open bookstores in Philadelphia and Greenwich Village, according to a press release. The bookstore's Upper East Side flagship's lease and trademark was taken over by a holding company in 2015.

The Upper West Side's original Shakespeare & Co. was located on West 81st Street and closed down in 1996, the New York Times reported at the time. The store closed due to pressure from a new Barnes & Noble bookstore that opened on Broadway and West 82nd Street. At the time, author Toni Morrison told the Times that the store's closure was "melancholy and outrageous."

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