By Mansfield Frazier
When I heard that Visible Voice, a new bookstore, had opened on St. Valentine’s Day on Kenilworth in Tremont back in 2007, I made a beeline over to check it out. This was during the height of the closing frenzy of mega-bookstores around the country so the opening of a small outlet embedded in a community was of great interest to me. Few business owners were willing to take a chance on Cleveland back then if you recall.
When I arrived on a late afternoon there were a number of people perusing the offerings on the shelves, and the owner, Dave Ferrante, was near the door greeting everyone as they came in. When I informed him that I wanted to do an article on his bold venture, he asked if I could wait about a half-hour until his manager returned, and then we could chat.
About 45 minutes later I found myself on a barstool at a nearby watering hole, beer in hand, discussing virtually everything under the sun … but all through the lenses of current politics. Obama was getting ready to make his run for the White House and the country was bubbling over with excitement. We soon discovered our politics and worldview (and yes our outrage and anger) aligned almost perfectly. I’d met someone with views as strong as mine, and he didn’t mind letting anyone know how he felt.
And we were alike in other ways as well: We both were risk takers, which is why he opened a bookstore when others were closing. I deeply admired and respected that in Dave.
When Andrew Samtoy wanted a Westside store to stage one of his newly initiated “flash mobs” I suggested Visible Voice and the event was a smash hit, complete with out-of-town TV crews showing up to film. He sold a lot of books that day. Claudia Taller and I even held a writing seminar in his upstairs meeting space.
But alas, with great regret, Dave recently informed his loyal customers and fans that he’s throwing in the towel; on Saturday, September 27, Visible Voice Books will be shutting its doors for the last time. Dave cited a number of factors that made it impossible to continuing operating, and one of them was the lack of the availability of nearby parking; even in trendy Tremont people simply don’t like to walk that far … malls have spoiled shoppers.
But every cloud has a silver lining, and for the customers of Visible Voice Books it’s an opportunity to acquire some titles at 40 percent off. That’s a steal of a deal if, like me, you’re a booklover.
Like so many visionaries, Dave Ferrante was ahead of his time, and perhaps in the wrong place. He said that he learned a lot during his seven years of operation, and that he’s going to closely watch the housing patterns and demographics of downtown Cleveland. He feels that at some point a bookstore will be viable somewhere near the heart of Cleveland … and I think he’s right.
But for now he simply says, “We want to thank all of our loyal customers, the Tremont community and everyone who has aided and abetted the store for all these years. It truly has been a pleasure. It has been a great experience and I have been very lucky to meet many great and interesting people throughout the years. I also want to thank the staff that I work with on a daily basis. They are hard working, loyal group of people who represented the store exceptionally.
“We hope to see you down at the store before we close. You can take one last stroll around our aisles, drink a glass of wine and take advantage of a 40% discount to buy some great books. Thank you for your patronage and helping to make Visible Voice Books such a great experience.”
No, thank you Dave … thanks for believing in Cleveland when virtually no one else was willing to take a shot.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.
Cleveland, OH 44113
7 Responses to “Visible Voice Books: The End of a Special Place @visiblevoiceCLE”
bob
NICE place..TRIED to patronize…well DID.. unfortunately NOT as often as liked to,etc. CAN be proud of place!!…kudoes..but guess NOT enough to keep it going…Hey..death by 33 cuts…Internet,lot of books out there,library,TV,cellphones,cable,semi crappy econ,folks buried up to tail feathers in debt,etc. SUSPECT Something like it will fill that void…EVENTUALLY…. WISH best…only problem is only 24 hrs/day and HE was using up a LOT of THAT and we all aint getting any younger….
bob
CO OP time…Crowdfunding? “Chain” store of sorts…collab of non profits…OR just had its ‘time’?
bob
Barack…SMART capable understated soul…HARD to sometimes gauge as they say…RESTRAINED to very civilized ‘considering’ all the bohunk…LOT of the ‘baggage’ lingers…ME? YOu sorta read MY spiel before Mr.Frazier…PERSONALLY I THINK enough or lot of OTHER Dems did well HEY “ANYWAYS” and THAT tainted ‘image’,etc. WENT THRU LOT OF THAT “LOCALLY”…some good politicos etc. got tarred with a bad brush unfairly and whatever One thinks of Mr. Cimperman least HE tried to come thru for some black families…NO idea WHAT ‘exactly’ happened in Tremont far as THOSE incidents but HE didnt deserve that LITERAL ‘burnout’ episode…
IS sorta ‘funny’,funky BHO able to bring about LOT of the reform THAT AIDED LOT of white folks,etc. as well as rest…MAYBE privately THAT thought sorta kinda digs at one but HARD to say Bah when get ‘helped’…. aka ACA to Consumer Protection Bureau to… I take help,etc. were can…I think history will look kindly on Him for THAT… FOREIGN stuff? Welll… GWB 43 sure opened up lot of cans of worms… like a Nam that keeps on giving… HOPEFULLY THAT crew OVER THERE will get it together, fight,do what have to do… EASY to compare to past events aka LBJ, Nixon,etc.
bob
TOUGH being ‘trendy’…..HARD to near impossible to sell a ‘image’ or idea…THINK LORENZO CARTER… IMAGINE people listening to Him ‘talk’….THEY would have searched for rope,burlap and tied Him up and taken Him to bedlam…. or a Steve Jobs… FEW AND FAR between examples… LOT of times NOT so ‘lucky’…. BE NICE to KNOW HOW much help got from County or a CSU or debt mgmt plans or whatever JUST as a ‘model’…. each situation has its own dynamics… SORTA funny hearing bout old malls turned INTO old time looking “CrockedParked” of the world..
bob
NOW if can stop THESE idiot builders,big REITS,etc.from CONSTANTLY building all this new *$*@* wouldnt have this hideous mess all over the place…got for sale and lease signs and STILL building new crap… TAX code to rest is so screwed up…EVENTUALLY ‘reality’ b slaps one….
bob
A lot of times LOT of events that converge at same time….OLD to older population lucky to get around and spend life down at nursing homes,Metro,other hospitals,doc offices,etc. EASY to EASIER to relate to a few people at a time VS. BIG crowds that COULD take on life of own… BAD stuff HAS A BAD way of pushing out the good…. think virus. OR ‘thought’ of… IF think idiots can just do WHATEVER and run around the corner then who wants to deal with THAT… THAT CAN and does happen everywhere to SOME extent,etc. but… SAD stuff, see,hear,read in likes of newspaper blotters to rest of it….
bob
I avoid Steelyard Walmart… BEEN panhandled there..I give some change,some $s to AVOID LOT worse… one whitish thin 40sh gal kinda perky least gave more of a show..cleavage showing..NOT suprised. Wonder WHY….$4. Guess no qualms,fears,other…or shame…hey…Die LOL if find out she is like a store mgr,other IN the strip….goes out at lunch time…Dont laugh..I remember some clowns stole a endloader OUT of LTV Steel and were trying to drive it down QUIGLEY… NOT suprised… Poor Brookpark Rd Kmart had some clowns break chain,locks and RODE kiddie bikes out of there…probably waved to cam on way out… PS…FINAL CLOSING sale going on… all got to go…