Wicker Park's Volumes Bookcafe enlists authors, neighbors in fight for its life

In “You’ve Got Mail,” the charming neighborhood bookstore is felled by the hulking, soulless chain store in a single, deadly swipe: Build across from little guy. Little guy folds.

For Volumes Bookcafe, the charming Wicker Park bookstore struggling to stay alive, it’s near-death by a thousand cuts:

The city inspectors who insisted on a $20,000 heating and cooling upgrade.

The countless, costly plumbing fixes.

The customers who browse the aisles, peruse the staff recommendations, run a price check on their phones and then exit, presumably to order the book on Amazon when they get home.

Amazon itself. “I prefer to call it Voldemort,” Volumes co-owner Rebecca George told me. “The thing you can’t name.”

Volumes opened at 1474 N. Milwaukee Ave. (the old Recycle designer resale space) in March 2016. Sisters Rebecca and Kimberly George, both former teachers, live in the neighborhood and longed for a spot to buy new books. (Nearby Myopic Books has used books well and truly covered; nearby Quimby’s specializes in graphic novels and magazines.)

They came up with a plan and poured their savings and sweat into making it happen.

“We were in that space every day for a year,” Rebecca George said. “Sanding and painting, putting together 6,000 pounds of shelves. We made most of the cafe tables. The other ones, we found from Coldwater Creek when it went under. Every inch of the place is hours and hours and hours of work.”

The building dates to 1883. So when city inspectors arrived to greenlight the opening, they handed the George sisters a lengthy, expensive to-do list.

(I once asked an entrepreneur friend of mine what’s been the biggest surprise about owning her own business. She answered, “Plumbing.”)

Anyway, they opened in debt.

But the store quickly became a neighborhood favorite, what with the weekly trivia night; the “You Joke Like a Girl” monthly comedy showcase; the storytelling series every second Wednesday of the month; the coffee, beer and wine selection; the delightful children’s section with twice-a-week story time/singalong.

“We don’t just sell books,” George said. “We create a community. We are literary tastemakers. We do tons of free events — a book swap at the farmers market, school visits, Wicker Park Lit Fest. We’re a free, safe space for voices. We’re having an opera here on Saturday night, just so people can experience something different.”

But money is tight. They’re still paying off rehab debt, and they’re dipping into their retirement savings to pay their seven employees, George said. She said she and her sister don’t collect a paycheck most weeks.

“A bookstore is a nickel-and-dime business,” she said. “The margins are razor-thin.”

So they’re turning to the community — the neighborhood community and the literary community — for help. They launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $60,000 by March 24. They’ve raised a little more than $22,000, so far.

Dozens of authors have thrown their support behind the campaign, donating appearances and books to be auctioned off as perks for donors.

Eve Ewing donated a live preview of her forthcoming work, plus a signed copy of her poetry collection, “Electric Arches.”

Roxane Gay donated two bundles of her books, signed, plus a “Hunger” (2017) tote bag. Jonathan Eig, Audrey Niffeneger, Julia C. Johnson and Renee Rosen also donated book packs.

“Lauren Groff reached out to me on Twitter to see how she can help,” George said. “The literary community is incredible.”

We’ve arrived at a moment, I think, when a lot of us are realizing that what we value — and what adds value to our lives — very often needs our money to survive and thrive.

The outpouring of support for Block Club Chicago — the nonprofit, hyperlocal news organization raised close to $140,000 since its launch two weeks ago — is one example.

“If everyone who comes through our door gave $10,” George said, “If everyone asked themselves if it’s worth $10 to keep us around — to keep all the programs and things we do, to create public spaces where people can say whatever they want to say — we’d be OK.”

Long term, George and her sister have plans to offset costs by hosting annual fundraisers and renting out the store for private events. They’ve hired a new accountant and finance team to look for other places to save.

“We’re not done yet,” she said. “I’m still scheduling into the future. We have high hopes this is going to work.”

I like “You’ve Got Mail” as much as the next guy, but I’ve always believed it would have a different ending were it set in Chicago — a city that names its streets for writers, a city where stories and those who tell them are woven into our soul.

We’ll see ...

hstevens@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

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