The interior of the newly reopened Left Bank Books.
In a sequel, Village bookstore is reborn
BY GABE HERMAN
Left Bank Books, which closed in 2016 after a
25-year run in the West Village, has reopened
in the neighborhood.
A soft opening was held on Sat., March 30, at its
new location, 41 Perry St., between W. Fourth St.
and Waverly Place.
When Left Bank Books closed three years ago,
it was on Eighth Ave. between W. 12th and Jane
Sts. The used-book shop moved into that location
in 2010 after a rent increase at its previous
spot a block away on W. Fourth St., between W.
12th and Bank Sts.
After the 2016 closing, co-owners Erik Du-
Ron and Jess Kuronen continued the brand online,
calling it Left Bank 2.0.
DuRon and Kuronen started out as employees
at the bookstore before eventually becoming owners,
and always had the idea someday to reopen in a
physical location, DuRon told this paper.
DuRon said that when the previous traditional
business model of selling used books failed, he and
Kuronen regrouped with the ultimate goal of a new
model with more curated and eclectic works with
varying prices. The new shop has books for as little as
$10 and up to $10,000, and everything in between.
They were able to build up the company online
until they could gather the resources for a brick-andmortar
store.
“That gave us room to be creative and try to build
the foundation of the next version of the shop,” Du-
Ron said.
During their year and a half running an online
PHOTO BY MICHAEL BUCHER
The exterior of the new Left Bank Books, at
41 Perry St.
bookstore, they went to book fairs and trade shows,
increased social-media presence and built up mailing
lists.
DuRon has a background in rare and antiquarian
bookselling going back to the late 1990s. As their
online business grew, he was able to tap into that
network, and they also found an angel investor last
PHOTO BY MICHAEL BUCHER
summer.
DuRon said they’re very happy with the new location
on Perry St.
“The space is everything we want,” he said. “It’s a
small shop on a beautiful, historic residential street,
in the heart of the old West Village.”
He added that their new spot is still close to
commercial traffi c on nearby bigger streets,
where higher rents were unaffordable for the
store.
“But we don’t necessarily want to be there,”
DuRon said. “We want to be a hidden gem
that’s not too diffi cult to fi nd.”
DuRon said they hope to get business from
the many creative professionals living in the
area, who could use books in fi elds like photography,
fashion, design, music and theater.
“We’ve maintained the old shop’s DNA,” he said.
“We scaled things up and reversed the formula. It’s
not so much used and rare, but rare and used.”
The shop is holding a series of open houses every
Thursday in April from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The social
gatherings will include drinks, snacks and music to
celebrate the reopening.
And the shop plans to host events and exhibits
going forward. DuRon said there are no concrete
details yet but there will likely be things like small
exhibits of collections or archives that have a cohesive
theme.
DuRon said there has been a good reaction so far
to the new version of the shop.
“We had a very strong opening weekend,” he said.
“There’s a lot of interest and buzz. Hopefully, we can
keep it going.”
Schneps Media TVG April 11, 2019 23