Stamford resident Genie Camacho is worried about the future for her grandchildren with the closing of the Borders Book Store on High Ridge Road. They will not experience books, music and art, she said. They will have only the Internet and blogs, Camacho said.
“The Internet is not the way to go,” she said as she entered the store. “What is it coming to?” Camacho was not alone in expressing sadness that Borders Book Store is closing. Dennis Harrington of Pound Ridge, N.Y., routinely travels to the Stamford bookstore and the surrounding shops.
“I wish half the people here supported it when it was open,” Harrington said, referring to the crowd shopping in the store with its 20 percent to 40 percent clearance sale.
The Stamford Borders is not alone in closing. Eight others in the state, including Fairfield and Wilton, will be gone by the end of May. The Fairfield and Stamford stores survived the original round of closings that Borders announced Feb. 16 when the Borders Group filed for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The two stores were added to the closing list about a month later.
The demise of the bookstore has become a hot button issue on with many residents sharing their opinions. The responses include: “Horrible, I'm very upset about this. I've been shopping there for years, and it's a staple for Christmas gifts. Only alternative is Amazon, but won't be the same as wandering around and just finding some book that catches my interest,” Angela Coombs Bollettieri wrote.
“I guess going forward it's the Kindle and an occasional Starbucks to replace their Cafe atmosphere,” Kathy Marsh wrote.
The closest Borders is in Mount Kisco, N.Y., according to the Borders store locator.
What do you think of the demise of the Borders in Stamford? Share your opinion below or send it to reporter Anthony Buzzeo at .
I'd much prefer to see all these big chain stores disappear. ... What this country needs is a return to small local merchants who provide the type of rich quality that used to exist in communities all over the USA. ............... This country is moving into a time where we are going to slowly see a lot of big changes evolving as a result of economic conditions. ...... Most people do not like change, .. but change is good. ..even when on the surface it doesn't appear to be.