The Mile End's Beloved S.W. Welch Bookstore Has Been Saved From Closing
The Mile End's beloved S.W. Welch bookstore will be sticking around for another two years after a negotiation with its landlord, Shiller-Lavy Realties, according to a post on the store's Facebook page.
Over the past few weeks, all eyes have been on the small bookstore on rue Saint-Viateur after it became the crux of a community movement against gentrification.
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The Mile End community mobilized for the bookstore after reports indicated that its landlord, Shiller Lavy Realties, was going to increase rent, forcing it to close up shop.
The landlord came under intense scrutiny by a group called Mile End Ensemble, which encouraged "the citizens of the Mile End" to "organize against Shiller Lavy" on its Facebook page.
"My landlord has had a change of heart and we have negotiated the lease for two more years at which point I will retire," S.W. Welch wrote on Facebook on Monday.
"I went up a little and he went down a lot."
The bookstore also voiced thanks for "the outpouring of love and concern by so many people to our plight."
Mile End Ensemble is planning to host a "read-in" to support S.W. Welch on March 13.
