Read Books will be leaving their location at 4972 N. Eagle Rock Blvd. after the rent for their store, approximately 600-700 square feet, increased from $1,200 to $2,805 — a jump of more than 133%.
Husband and wife Jeremy and Debbie Kaplan co-own Read Books. Jeremy Kaplan said their used, general-interest bookstore has been on Eagle Rock Boulevard since opening in 2007 under a month-to-month lease.
According to Jeremy Kaplan, he and Debbie Kaplan found out their building had been sold Feb. 17, when a representative from the new owner’s property manager dropped off a letter. Inside was an ultimatum — sign a 3-to-5-year lease for $2,805 per month or get out by March 30.
“At that point, we kind of panicked, because we were like, ‘Oh my god, we can’t move all of this stuff out of here,’” Jeremy Kaplan said, gesturing to the books overflowing the store’s shelves. “We knew we couldn’t afford that rent.”
According to Jeremy Kaplan, Read Books should have received a 90-day notice due to California Senate Bill 1103, which provides tenant protections for small businesses in California. After informing the property manager — Systems Real Estate — of their rights, Debbie and Jeremy Kaplan now have until June 1 to find a new space for their collection of roughly 30 thousand books.
“There’s a time for commiseration, and there’s a time to say, ‘Ugh, this sucks,’ and be tired, but I figure that time is more like when we’re done,” Jeremy Kaplan said.
Jeremy Kaplan said Read Books’ building houses other tenants, including Jennifer Montgomery Child Therapy and Owl Talk, a clothing boutique. According to Jeremy Kaplan, the new owner upped Jennifer Montgomery Child Therapy’s rent from $1,600 to $2,255, and Owl Talk’s rent more than doubled, from $1,200 to $2,450.
Read Books stocks a little bit of everything, Jeremy Kaplan said, including his collections of boxing books and Holocaust books. The couple’s store also sells a selection of cookbooks curated by Debbie Kaplan. According to Jeremy Kaplan, the sous chef at Masa, a well-known Italian restaurant in LA, has bought cookbooks from the store.
Beyond finding a new place, Jeremy Kaplan said he wants to connect with other businesses in Northeast LA who are facing astronomical rent increases.
“My main priority is combating this trend of people looking at our neighborhood — looking at neighborhoods in general, looking at America — as a place for them to make investments,” Jeremy Kaplan said.
Contact James Miller at jmiller4@oxy.edu
