New petition to save the Alabama Theater Bookstop
After conferring with the folks at Houstonist, I've decided to launch a new petition to save the historic Alabama Theater Bookstop here. The difference vs. the original petition is that instead of focusing on Weingarten, this one directly pressures Barnes & Noble to preserve and expand the existing Bookstop rather than abandoning it - and if they're not willing to do that, we're not willing to patronize their business. If we get anywhere near the 23,000+ signatures the first petition received, that's enough lost customers to really make B&N think twice. Read the details here, and please tell your friends. Time is of the essence: once B&N signs the new River Oaks anchor agreement with Weingarten, they'll have no incentive to preserve and expand the Bookstop.
posted by Tory Gattis @ 8:53 PM
3 Comments:
Good effort. But if we can't persuade a locally-owned company like Weingarten to change its plans, I doubt we'll do anything to convince a national chain like Barnes & Noble - especially when the current Bookstop is so far below the current standard for the chain.
I have a suggestion for all 23,000 signers of your previous petition. Why don't each and every one of you pony up $100 apiece, form a committee to manage the property, and then offer Weingarten $2.3 million for the properties. It's one thing to sign a petition, but if all of you truly value the Alabama Bookstop and the River Oaks theater, then why don't all of you put your money where your mouth is. That property belongs to Weingarten and not to you.
Weingarten certainly has a right to do what they want with the property, but we also have a right to not patronize their businesses if we dislike what they do, and they can either take that hit or choose a different course of action.
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