Globe Bookstore May Be Sold Soon

The fate of the Globe Corner Bookstore is once again in doubt. The owner of the longtime Harvard Square travel bookshop­—which reopened on the corner of Mount Auburn and JFK streets in 2006—says he’s putting his store up for sale amid health concerns. The possible sale makes the Globe Corner the latest Square business to confront an uncertain future­­—and at least the second local bookstore in as many years to be put up for sale. The Globe Corner’s owner, Patrick Carrier, said the sale was prompted by personal health concerns­—a seizure disorder that, he said, “is likely to be very manageable over time” but was the impetus for him to seek to leave the business. Carrier said he is already responding to inquiries from potential buyers and expressed hope that a sale wouldn’t change the shop’s character. “It would be our hope that we would sell the store in its current incarnation,” Carrier said. “We would certainly be open to offers that involve some other form of bookselling.” Carrier’s announcement left the Square’s business community concerned and saddened. “We understand that the store is going to be sold because Pat is not feeling well, which concerns us more than the store’s sale,” said Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association. The rocky economy has contributed to a shake-up in the Square’s commercial makeup. Since early 2009, retailers and eateries including Adidas, Z Square, and Herrell’s Ice Cream have left the area. The Globe Corner could become at least the second Square bookstore to change owners in recent years. The Harvard Bookstore was sold in 2008 to a Wellesley couple. “We would hope that Globe Corner would stay in its location, in much the same way that the Harvard Bookstore was able to transition under new ownership,” Jillson said. The potential sale marks a new chapter in the Globe Corner’s history. In July 2005, the Globe Corner, then located on the corner of Church and Palmer streets, closed its doors because it couldn’t afford to renew its lease. It reopened the following year at 90 Mt. Auburn St., the building the store still occupies today. “It has been an immensely rewarding 28 years for me at The Globe Corner,” Carrier said in a statement. “It has been a privilege to work with such wonderful staff, customers, friends in the book and publishing industry, and of course the great books and maps.”