MINNEAPOLIS -- A couple of Minneapolis bookstore owners have recently expressed some of the struggles they're facing, with one bookstore turning to crowdfunding to stay open.
"A lot of bookstores are doing really well which is fantastic but there are some of us that are struggling," said Devin Abraham, manager of Once Upon A Crime.
Once Upon A Crime, an independent mystery bookstore located in the Whittier/Uptown neighborhood, has been around for more than 30 years. Abraham's family took over the bookstore about two and a half years ago.
"I want it to stay open but there's nothing else I could personally do. So now it's kind of up to other people," Abraham said.
On Monday, Once Upon A Crime launched a GoFundMe campaign to keep the store open. As of Thursday night, they had raised more than $14,400 of their $50,000 goal.
"We need to pay off our original loan of $50,000. We have a line of credit right now that we're almost maxed out on that we've been using to pay off that loan... and our rent goes up every year," Abraham explained.
Abraham said the bookstore is also dealing with a lot of nearby construction that has been blocking off streets and parking. The city also put in a bike lane in front of their store, cutting down on street parking.
While they are working on new ways to become more profitable, they are up against a deadline. Abraham said they will need to make a decision on the bookstore's future before their lease is up on April 1.
"If we don't get enough money and donations to pay off the debt, we probably would have to go into a closing sale," she said.
The owner of DreamHaven Books and Comics in south Minneapolis also expressed on the store's Facebook page that they could really use some support right now.
Part of Greg Ketter's Facebook post from Nov. 26 said, "I've never been any good at asking for anyone's help but I have to do it now. I really need people to come in and buy one book, just one. (Of course, if you can buy more I won't complain). We have the largest inventory of new, used, rare, and interesting books we've ever had. Books in all price ranges. If you haven't been here in a while, now would be a great time for a visit. If you were going to order a book from Amazon, consider ordering it from us."
Ketter said he wrote the post after a slow Small Business Saturday.
He recently bought 20,000 books from a collector who has since passed away and said he has "gotten a little more behind than I probably should have." Ketter said he's seeing fewer young collectors.
"It's always a struggle. It just always has been and with the added things like Amazon and eBooks... it's always a struggle," Ketter said.
At Once Upon A Crime, Abraham said they've received a lot of support since starting the GoFundMe campaign. She said, "It's just been amazing and really makes me feel that we should continue. We should do everything we possibly can to stay here."