Last night a friend and I arrived at Kepler’s to find it closed–for good. That I may never again call someone and say, “Meet me along the fiction back wall at Kafka!” makes me feel sick. I will be posting links to coverage of this story and other Kepler’s information, memories, etc. If anyone is interested in joining a discussion about what we can do to keep an excellent independent bookseller in the area, please email me.
Here is the text of the letter posted by Clark Kepler on the bookstore’s door and online at keplers.com:
Dear Friend of Kepler’s,
After 50 years of bookselling in Menlo Park, Kepler’s is going out of business. The decision to close our doors has been one of the most difficult in my life. As much as we love what we do and would like to continue another 50 years, we simply cannot. The economic downturn since 2001 has proven to be more than we can rebound from.
I want to share my sorrow with this ending. Kepler’s has enjoyed the support of this community from our inception in the 1950s, through both turbulent and joyful times. I feel blessed to have personally served as this community’s bookseller for 26 of those years.
In today’s political and social climate I would like to be there with you and for you, providing books and writers with varied ideas and provocative opinions, but the constancy of change will not allow it. So, I want to express my heart felt gratitude and appreciation for your support over the years. It has been wonderful.
Sincerely,
Clark Kepler
Kepler’s is an intellectual, literary and
and cultural repository that must be kept alive and serving
people in its immediate community beyond!
Comment by Daphne Muse — 9/3/2005 @ 9:41 am
I am also really sad to see keplers go but I hope some investers do come foreword and try to help bring the store back to the way it should be and that is to be Open with all the poeple coming in and buying newspapers.
Comment by Martin Odian — 9/3/2005 @ 10:51 am
Hard to believe or accept that Kepler’s won’t always be there when I need a book, a card, a magazine…. Here’s some of what we’ve already lost on the Peninsula: The Park Theatre, Wessex (lightly used) Books, Printer’s Inc., Cafe Verona, and I’m sure there are more. In many of these cases, the space sits dark and vacant — YEARS after closing. Booklovers need bookstores. I hope Kepler’s can be saved. –Scottie Zimmerman
Comment by Scottie Zimmerman — 9/4/2005 @ 2:49 pm
My children and now my grandchildren have learned the joy of exploring bookstores by “keppling”. We coined this phrase 30 years ago when we first moved here, making it a point to “kepple” after dinners and movies. Everyone has their favorite spots. I hope some investors can save the store and in this space. To lose it is to lose the heart of Menlo Park. I am so sorry I didn’t buy the 50th anniversary bag/hat!
Comment by Judith Fernandez — 9/4/2005 @ 10:49 pm
I am deeply deeply saddened by the news of the closing of Keplers and am praying that there is a way to keep this landmark open. I have a 13 month old daughter who’s first public outing was to Cafe Borrone’s with a stop at Keplers afterwards to introduce Ariel to the wonders of books (with a purchase of several books there to start her library at home). The world is becoming so sterile and lacking a sense of community – if we do indeed lose Keplers, that trend will worsen. One of the places I have always felt most at home was in the midst of this wonderful store!
Comment by Kelli Suchy — 9/5/2005 @ 8:35 pm
I have been a victim of my assumption that Kepler’s was “living off the fat of the land.” Thus, I’ve betrayed my good neighbor by being cheap and impatient: buying from Amazon. No more! Let Kepler’s be saved. Allow me to redeem myself and, with a large helping of luck, be saved, too.
Comment by David Holden — 9/6/2005 @ 7:04 pm
Its sad to see Keplers closing.
I hope they can find a way to stay in business.
Perhaps the rent can be re-negotiated.
Comment by Albert Henson — 9/6/2005 @ 7:28 pm
“I believe that today more than ever a book should be sought after even if it has only one great page in it. We must search for fragments, splinters, toenails, anything that has ore in it, anything that is capable of resuscitating the body and the soul.” ~ Henry Miller, “The Tropic of Cancer”
The joy that comes from shifting thru old books….taking in the aroma and finding a penned endearment inside the front cover. It’s one of the more simple pleasures, but in a day of superficial pleasures it’s one that has remained sincere over the years. It is indeed like searching for a familiar face in a crowd, but rather then a face your looking for a voice to strike familiar. There is heart inside such places as yours.
I wish you the best of luck.
Comment by Raquel P — 9/8/2005 @ 2:31 pm
For years, and over many editions, Kepler’s has been a wonderful place for my book, the Kauai Underground Guide. As local author, I have really valued being able to refer people who want to buy my book to Kepler’s. I want to help:) when Kepler’s re-opens, as I believe it will, as I know it must! I will give 2 cases of my books at no charge so Kepler’s can retain the entire sales price. I do this in gratitude for all the years of our association. It has meant a lot to me, and to my readers!
Comment by Lenore Horowitz — 9/8/2005 @ 9:32 pm
I am 79 years old and live 300 miles away, but I felt my heart sink when I read Kepler’s was closing. As an impecunious graduate student,I was among the first to discover there the wonder of “paperbacks” that were real books and not throwaways from a drugstore rack. And the great people and conversations and links to a world where passionate commitment to ideals was a part of everyday life, not something to read about. Please, please save Kepler’s!
Comment by Mary Ann ((Esser)) — 9/11/2005 @ 4:15 pm
Kepler’s fue nuestra amiga libreria por muchos años. Cuando supe la noticia de que cerraba, estuve muy apenada, pero no solo yo, tambien mi familia sintio mucha pena, porque una gran amiga intelectual se nos iba. Hoy doy gracias a todas las personas que han hecho posible, que Kepler’s siga entre nosotros. Esta libreria no solo ha sido amiga de los que leen la lengua de este pais, tambien hemos podido encontrar libros en castellano -español- y en otras lenguas, lo que hace que Kepler’s tenga muchos mas amigos de lo que la libreria se imagina. Nos veremos el dia 8 en el sitio de siempre. Exito y que se hagan muchos eventos. Un saludo cordial,
Prof. Sonia M.Martin
Directora SELC (Sociedad de Escritores Latinoamericanos de California)
Comment by Prof. Sonia M.Martin — 10/4/2005 @ 11:39 pm