Louie's Bookstore (Baltimore, Mount Vernon: rent, how much, house)

[Gil3]

I had no idea this place closed down, as I just started working in Baltimore again. I remember going there on occasion back in the early 90s and it was a wonderful place to go. Was it relocated and started new as another name or did it just go out of business for good? Thanks!

[jonjj]

It closed for good awhile ago. I loved the place also.

[Gil3]

Originally Posted by jonjj

It closed for good awhile ago. I loved the place also.

Thanks, Jonjj..

[ginbelt]

yeah, they closed (had a fire, I think), then they reopened with a new name. At one point, they moved the bookstore downstairs and tried to make the place a little more swanky....this was in the late 90's/very early 00's.....then they just were gone. I miss the "old" Louies, a lot.

[Gil3]

Originally Posted by ginbelt

yeah, they closed (had a fire, I think), then they reopened with a new name. At one point, they moved the bookstore downstairs and tried to make the place a little more swanky....this was in the late 90's/very early 00's.....then they just were gone. I miss the "old" Louies, a lot.

Thanks, Ginbelt.

[ReefAreCoolToo]

There is a bookstore at Belvedere Square is nice..cheap pricing. I am not sure what's the name of it

[barante]

Hey, don't forget Red Emma, a coffee house and bookstore at 800 St. Paul Street. The variety of people is just mind-boggling: lovers, who really should rent a room; the studious types huddled over their computers; some musician types with their guitar cases. It's as hip as you get in this town, especially since students from the School of the Performing Arts are among customers.
Emma Goldman was an anarcho-feminist organizer and rabblerouser. True to form, this coffee house features all kinds leftist books and magazines. There also are t-shirts emblazoned with the mug of your favorite guerrilla leader. Beats Loui's any day.

[jonjj]

You know, another great book store in the city is Mystery Loves Company in Fells Point on Fleet Street--I think the 1700 block. They have a great selection and it's worth the trip if you enjoy reading anything from the mystery genre.

[Lumerian Feast]

I was a busboy at Louie's in the 80s (a high school student at the time). What an awesome place, and kind of an awesome time, when Mount Vernon was still cheap and funky and hadn't been gentrified so much. The reason it went out of business is simple mismanagement -- it was owned by Jimmy Rouse (yes, of Rouse family fame), who made it into the place it was in its heyday, and he decided he wanted out to focus on other things. So he sold it, and the new owners just didn't get it. They moved the books downstairs into a tiny little space and slashed their book inventory to make more dining/drinking space, thinking that most of the money was to be made in alcohol, but underestimated how much the bookstore created foot traffic and contributed to the overall feel. So business suffered. The space was re-invented as an upscale Italian place for a while, but I think that lasted less than a year.

Sad thing is, a similar fate befell Adrian's Book Cafe in Fells Point. Great little bookstore/cafe (though not nearly as big as Louie's), a real community place that did good business. Than the young owners sold it b/c they wanted different careers, and the guy that took over had no idea what he was doing and just though it would be cool to own a coffee shop. It went out of business in about 6 months, and only lasted that long because it had a loyal clientele.