Bibliohead Must Pay Double the Rent to Stay in Hayes Valley

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Bibliohead Bookstore may be forced to permanently shutter its doors come the beginning of next year. "I have been told point blank that the landlords would prefer a higher-end boutique instead of Bibliohead," Melissa Richmond, the bookstore's owner/founder, tells Hoodline. In any case the store must relocate for four months beginning in January 2015 for the building's earthquake retrofitting. If they want to return, they'll need to come up with double the rent they're currently paying.

"I would truly like to stay here, or close by, but I may get priced out," Melissa further adds to Hoodline. "That the city made no effort to protect merchants such as me from the specter of mandated retrofitting and its being used to chase out my viable business is disturbing."

In an effort to hold onto the Hayes Valley location that it has occupied since 2004, Bibliohead has launched an Indiegogo campaign. As you may remember, Le Video tried this same route a couple months ago. The crowdfunding didn't work that time, but it did lead to enough attention that Green Apple Books swooped in to save the store. So what happens now when it's the bookstore that needs saving?
· Rent Hike Could Force Out Bibliohead Bookstore [Hoodline]
· After 53 Years, the Country's Oldest Black Bookstore Has Closed [Racked SF]