Don Blyly, who owned Uncle Edgar’s as well as its conjoined sister enterprise, Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore, said at the time that his business had already been suffering, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fire might be the last straw. He wasn’t sure it would be possible to reopen what he called “the Uncles.” Nonetheless, a GoFundMe campaign was launched on the bookstores’ behalf; it has since raised $194,101 of its $500,000 goal.
Now comes more good news, courtesy of In Reference to Murder:
Don Blyly, owner of Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore in Minneapolis … has found a new site for the stores. The new building is about two miles east of the old location and a short block and a half from Moon Palace Books [a general-interest independent bookstore at 3032 Minnehaha Avenue]. Blyly noted that “the Moon Palace people and I believe that having two bookstores with such different selections so close will do good things for both stores.” Blyly sold the stores' destroyed old site and has some insurance money. … Blyly hopes to open for business in June.”It seems likely that Uncle Edgar’s will take some while to rebuild its stock; after the fire, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal estimated the two shops “contained over 100,000 used and new volumes.” And of course, some of the choicest vintage works in its collection will never be recovered. But it brings a smile to my face knowing that the next time I’m in Minneapolis—probably in 2023—I can stop by Uncle Edgar’s again and spend a couple of hours looking for treasures that really belong on my own shelves.
1 comment:
I feel the exact same way. When I think of all the vintage books that were lost in that fire it makes me really sad. But to be able to come down to the cities and visit the uncles once more will be delightful
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