Great place to take a break on your lunch hour. “I just want to thank people for being so supportive over the years. He plans to continue his involvement as a member of Acton’s Economic Development Committee and on the board of directors for the Retail Association of Massachusetts. Owner David Didriksen put the bookstore on the market as his retirement nears and he pursues a music career. A store-wide liquidation sale began Jan. 12, where local readers ascended on the bookstore, crowding its parking lot and filling the store’s aisles. Saturday afternoon Happiness was mine! Fostering people’s love for literature has been the bookstore’s mission since it first opened on Nov. 16, 1996. After 20 years in business at 279 Great Road in Acton, Willow Books will be going out of business and into history as owner, David Didriksen, has decided to retire. There have been hundreds of people who’ve worked here over the years and they’ve almost all been terrific, wonderful people. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, call ahead to verify hours, and remember to practice social distancing. Willow Books—an Acton institution since 1996— is up for sale. © Gannett Co., Inc. 2020. It hadn’t arrived yet…. "Great place to take a break on your lunch hour. I’ll sell everything that’s not nailed down, like a big rummage sale,” Didriksen said. I got great support from the community,” said Didriksen, an Acton resident. I had a very supportive landlord. “It’s time,” said Didriksen, 63. I worked for other people for 20 years and I’d rather work for myself than for other people. See 4 photos and 4 tips from 97 visitors to Willow Books. And I hope the adults also found it a nice place to go. “So I think it’s very difficult for big companies to sympathize with small companies, but even saying all of that, if I was 10 years younger I wouldn’t be closing, but I’m at that point where my kids don’t want to do it and I didn’t find a buyer,” said Didriksen. “I would hope that would be my legacy – that a lot of kids said, ‘Oh there was this really great store in my town and that’s when I really loved books.' Owner David Didriksen put the bookstore on the market as his retirement nears and he pursues a music career. Willow Books & Cafe opens at 10:00 am and closes at 6:00 pm. You can find Willow Books & Cafe in Acton on Middlesex, Great Road, 279 number in street.For more information, you can visit www.willowbooks.com.You can use (978) 266-0066 phone number to contact us. “To do the same thing for 20 years, yeah it’s time for a change, I mean that’s a long time to be doing the same thing every day. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. You’re not a number to us, you’re real people we connect with. Wicked Local ~ 15 Pacella Park Drive, Randolph MA 02368 ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Cookie Policy ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service ~ Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy, Molly Loughman mloughman@wickedlocal.com @MLoughmanWL, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. “There’s room in town for another bookstore, it’s just not going to be this one because I’m leaving,” Didriksen said. Once retired, Didriksen plans to devote more time to playing in his musical bands, consulting with other small businesses, kayaking on the Concord River and traveling with his wife, Susan. All rights reserved. Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. “The world is different than it was 20 years ago and I wouldn’t say the Internet was the only reason, but it was a factor because unfortunately if people keep buying their things online there won’t be any local businesses.”. Going out of business. The store is located between Concord Circle and Route 27. You have a wonderful group of independent retailers in this town and if people don’t shop at them they’re going to disappear. I’ve been very lucky to follow my dreams and have it last for 20 years.”. What’s your advice to existing bookstore owners? There has already been an outpouring of people from people saying, ‘My kids learned to ready there.’. The store is on the right under a large green awning. We had a thousand people for all the Harry Potter nights. After 18 years as a bookseller, David Didriksen is putting his Willow Books and Cafe in Acton on the market. Online companies aren’t known for giving back to communities because they do not employ people, pay real estate tax, and often don’t collect sales tax, Didriksen said. Great coffee and free wifi." It’s been a great experience. I think the thing I’d be proudest of if it were true would be that a lot of young people discovered their love of reading here because we always had a big children’s department and I always loved doing kids events. (Go 1.2way around the Concord Prison Rotary to Route 2A). Great coffee and free wifi. It’s a big responsibility. Follow Molly Loughman on Twitter @MloughmanWL. • When the store first opened, Didriksen had between 20 and 30 publishers he bought from. So I’d rather go out while I can do stuff and not have them carry me out of here. It’s a lot for one person. Regular RRB readers will remember that just 11 days ago I journeyed to Willow Books – the wellspring of Acton’s Liberalism – to purchase a copy of Gary Byrne’s new book Crisis of Character. Willow Books patrons were accustomed to jazz or classical musical softly playing in the background as they thumbed their way through rows bookshelves carrying an eclectic selection for both children and adults. “I’ll sell fixtures, I’ll sell inventory. Get information, directions, products, services, phone numbers, and reviews on Willow Books & Cafe in Acton, undefined Discover more Book Stores companies in Acton on Manta.com It’s been very bittersweet, plus my family was involved early on when we opened, so there are a lot of memories here. They still await a big back-order. Since publishers have bought each other out, Didriksen ended with four. “You just know when it’s time and it’s time,” said Didriksen. Plus use our free tools to find new customers. Old school retail, you know? • It’s been a wonderful experience. Follow signs to Route 2A, Acton. The only advice I’d ever give is to just be true to yourself. Choose the plan that's right for you. Over the last two decades, business has changed. They're on foodler!". We work total 7 days during the week. Final days sale in progress now. It was a great experience, it was wonderful, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve had great staff. And I got to own my own business. I hope there’s still going to be people who can lay down the line for that in the future. I snagged their only / last copy. Basis for Blair Books in the novel "One True Loves.". Every independent bookstore is independent and unique, so each one has its own character, flavor and every small business has its own character and it really reflects the owners. I got tremendous support from the community, really from day one. Cloudflare Ray ID: 5e696619cd0b2798 Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. Great atmosphere, huge selection, friendly, knowledgeable staff. Do what you want to do, do something you love – that’s what I did. Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. ”. I think it’s hard because each bookstore and each retail situation is different and each personality is very important to the business. We’ve had so many famous people here. I got to meet all these people. After 20 years in business at 279 Great Road in Acton, Willow Books will be going out of business and into history as owner, David Didriksen, has decided to retire. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. We use the latest and greatest technology available to provide the best possible web experience.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings to continue. What was it like owning one the largest independent bookstores in the region? Sometimes stories have happy endings. We're an over-hyped, caffeinated and over-scheduled world,” Didriksen said. Foursquare © 2020  Lovingly made in NYC, CHI, SEA & LA, "Great service, also perfect for ordering takeout. It’s had its challenges, but it’s been great. Digital access or digital and print delivery. The bookstore has hosted book signings from athletes, including Bobby Orr, Tedy Bruschi, Bill Russell, Rob Gronkowski, and Terry Francona, along with authors such as Jodi Picoult and Patricia Cornwell. I think I brought a little culture into the area that didn’t have a bookstore before I opened here. Willow Books—an Acton institution since 1996— is up for sale. Download Foursquare for your smart phone and start exploring the world around you! I’d like to give advice to the community: Please shop at your local stores.

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