Brownstein: the Argo bookstore powered by a community that reads together

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It is not the kind of news that most would expect in these difficult times.

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Argo Bookshop, a small downtown store, has moved. And not outward, but into larger rooms with just a few hops, hops, and hops from its previous location on Ste-Catherine St.

At 55, Argo is one of the oldest Anglo indie bookstores on the island. (Montreal West’s Bonder Bookstore has been around the longest, having turned 68 this year.)

It is no small thing for any independent bookstore to continue all these years in Montreal, much less for veteran stores like Argo, Bonder, Drawn & Quarterly and Bibliophile that have sold mainly literature in English.

Faced with the declining Anglo population and competition from big box stores, e-books and high-tech reading gadgets, not to mention the pandemic, few would have been surprised if Argo owners had raised the white flag and abandoned the business. business.

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The “A” in the address of Ste-Catherine St. W. de Argo in 1841A should give customers an indication that the bookstore hasn’t exactly moved into a massive complex. Adjacent to it, on the second floor, is a nail / hair salon, and one floor below is a tattoo parlor.

Still, its space has doubled from 500 to 1,000 square feet, allowing for more titles and more space for customers to hang around and chat. Regardless, the charm and warmth of the original Argo remains.

Thanks to avuncular founder John George, Argo attracted the attention of many of his Shaughnessy Village neighbors, who flocked as much for an informative tutorial on anyone from Chaucer to Chomsky as to buy pulp. There were other owners after George’s death in 2006, until Adele Prevost and Moti Lieberman bought Argo four years ago.

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“If I had to give a one-word answer on what has kept us going, it is ‘community,'” says Prevost. “There is still such a strong community feeling around the store. I used to come here when I went to CEGEP to buy textbooks. I remember Mr. George and how it always was and still is such a special place. “

And then came the pandemic, and Prevost and Lieberman were understandably nervous.

“But there was a feeling in the neighborhood that people really wanted to support local independent businesses, because things were so unstable and potentially dangerous for us,” Prevost says. “So people came together and, in turn, we did everything we could for the community by offering online reading events and local delivery. It became a great two-way street.

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“Things really took off for us back then and we just keep growing from there. It was also very surprising for us, but we are immensely grateful to our community for the support we have received ”.

Argo’s business received such a boost that more space was needed and a move was necessary.

“We think hard and work hard to make people feel like this is the same old Argo,” says Lieberman.

But times have changed in some respects. In the store’s early days, much of its trade revolved around selling second-hand books at bargain prices. These are new titles now, with considerable attention paid to science fiction, diversity, social activism, and children’s literature, in addition to best-selling fiction and non-fiction. Local lighting will be well served at Argo as well, now that the store has the space to host book launches and readings.

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“There was a period when the store was going for used books, but Mr. George was also adamant about focusing on new books and supporting local authors,” says Lieberman. “Now, with a more diverse and growing community, we want to make sure that anyone who walks into the store finds new books that reflect their lives.”

While the community spirit remains, the demographics of the area have changed. Many of the store’s former regulars have moved or died, and have been replaced by a younger and more diverse population.

“What we’ve noticed is that the people who come to our store now are really varied and diverse compared to before,” says Prevost. “Most of our clients are younger. We mainly sell to people between the ages of 18 and 35.

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“Printed books are not going to disappear. There will always be a special place for the written word in the eyes of many people. And that really covers all demographics and backgrounds. “

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