Newsweek noticed the site was down shortly after the announcement by the Strand Book Store on Instagram and Twitter, which asked for readers to purchase store merchandise in hopes of upping revenue.
The store shared that the website crashed on Twitter, and claimed it may take until tonight or tomorrow for everything to be working properly. When the website is up and running, there are options for the Strand to ship books if you’d like to buy, but aren’t local. Strand also has a book subscription box that delivers routinely.
They seemed to then confirm it really was passionate fans who flocked to purchase everything on their must-read list. They implied this to a handful of individual fans who expressed concern for the blank webpage on Twitter.
Nancy Bass Wyden is the current owner of The Strand, and the bookstore has always been in her family. Wyden’s grandfather, Ben Bass, was a Lithuanian immigrant who opened the family-owned store in 1927. It was then passed on to Wyden’s father, and later, to her.
Wyden issued a statement on the bookstore’s struggle on Twitter Friday, too. “We need your help,” she wrote. “My goal is to continue the legacy of my father and his father before him. #SaveTheStrand by shopping at http://strandbooks.com or coming to visit us in person.”
The Strand now has a few locations, though their main store is located on 14th Street and Broadway in Greenwich Village. In franchising, the store opened a new location in New York City’s Upper West Side in July. The store appears to be remaining open, despite the financial struggle.
If you’re passionate about The Strand, good books and nostalgic places, you can refresh the strand website here until you’re able to purchase. And if you live in New York City, there’s no better time to browse the stacks to find a new surprise read, or something you’ve read 100 times.
