Wanna Own a Bookshop?

Having already passed up the opportunity to purchase a small, independent Seattle bookstore in the not-too-distant past, taking on this far-away endeavor wouldn’t be up my alley. But I do hope somebody else out there sees running Minneapolis’ Once Upon a Crime shop as a promising venture. This story comes from the St. Paul, Minnesota, Pioneer Press:

Once Upon a Crime, the little Minneapolis bookstore with a big reputation, is for sale.

Pat Frovarp and Gary Shulze, who have owned the store at 604 W. 26th St. for 13 years as of Aug. 1, said they made this difficult decision because “We're not getting any younger,” and Shulze is undergoing cancer treatments.

“Regardless, we knew the day was coming soon when someone else should own Once Upon a Crime,” Shulze said Monday. “The store continues to thrive and we hope there is someone out there who will eagerly take the reins.”

Once Upon a Crime, which has only 800 square feet of sales space, carries new mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction as well as rare, used and hard-to-get volumes.

I’ve had the good fortune to visit Once Upon a Crime on a number of occasions, since my best friend lives in Minneapolis and he--through no fault of mine, of course--has become a crime-fiction enthusiast over the years. Frovarp and Shulze (who won a Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2011) have set up a pleasant, well-stocked literary haven that’s become an important stop on writers’ swings through the Twin Cities. It would be a terrible shame to see Once Upon a Crime go out of business.