A Change of Location but the Same Spirit at South Congress Books

South Congress Books' old location (Photo by Jana Birchum)

A small storefront housing thousands of vintage and used books on South Congress Avenue represented the realization of Sheri Tornatore’s dream to open a bookstore. That is, until the new property owner priced her out of the renowned shopping street.

South Congress Books closed its doors to its loyal fanbase and visiting tourists on Jan. 8, 2023. Owner Tornatore said the store will reopen at a new location on Kerbey Lane in March. The move follows the expiration of the store’s contract and a new landlord increasing rent. A selection of a few hundred books, artwork, prints, and objects are currently available at antique shop Uncommon Objects and will remain after the move to Kerbey Lane.

Tornatore herself did not definitively know of the store’s fate until the end of December. With only a few days’ notice before closing the shop, she says while at the location packing up books, people who hadn’t yet heard the news tried to go to the store. “It’s been a little hard to be there emotionally,” Tornatore says. “We papered over the front windows, but we can still hear people outside.”

The same landlords owned the building for the first 10 years of operation. When an Austin developer bought the property a year ago, the store had a year left on its contract with the same rent. However, once the contract expired, an increase in rent left Tornatore no choice but to move. “Being a bookstore, we certainly could not do that,” Tornatore says. “We were willing to compromise to a degree, but that was outrageous.”

Sharpe previously bought property that housed South Congress stores such as Uncommon Objects. Tornatore says developers have done a “disservice” to local businesses priced out of South Congress. While she remains positive, Tornatore says she does “hold some resentment about what has become of South Congress because of the developers.”

The increasing number of chains transformed South Congress into an area devoid of old Austin flavor, almost like “Anywheresville USA,” Tornatore says. “Now it’s just a black metal, huge metal monstrosity that’s been there for five years now giving nothing to the street, giving nothing to South Congress, giving nothing to the community. And I think that’s really sad.”

The store’s new location faces the original Kerbey Lane restaurant, one of the first places Tornatore visited upon moving to Austin in 1985. “This is a really different atmosphere,” Tornatore says. “South Congress has changed so much that it doesn’t feel like old Austin, certainly not where we were.”

About seven or eight months ago, Tornatore started hunting for a new home for her books with a potential move looming under the new ownership. Finding an affordable location seemed near impossible until the owner of Shuniya Yoga set up Tornatore with the landlord. “It was serendipitous and wonderful,” Tornatore says. “That’s how it worked out. Basically like old-school word of mouth.”

Tornatore’s customers have ranged from tourists and locals to celebrities like Patti Smith and Natalie Portman. Although she says she cherishes her regular customers who will continue to support her, she will miss the diversity of tourists that once poured into her store. “We all loved meeting so many people who travel through our town and go to South Congress,” Tornatore says. “Just the sea of humanity that is South Congress pretty much, so we will all miss it for sure.”

The new location, a cottage from the 1940s, has space for about 5,000 books. In addition to a 20% off sale the week before moving, Tornatore donated about 1,000 of her books to different places in Austin such as Recycled Reads and the Salvation Army to make the transition possible. While the store is smaller, Tornatore plans to take advantage of the store’s backyard to hold events. “It feels like what you think of as a bookstore,” Tornatore says. “It’s fun. It’s quaint and it’s going to be a nice place for books and people.”

When first opening, Tornatore recalls people jeering at the “bookstore coming soon” sign in the window. Now, she can proudly say she operated a bookstore on South Congress for over a decade. “A few times people would walk by and say ‘good luck with that’ or … ‘only Austin would still have a bookstore,’ Tornatore says. “And to almost have 12 years there. I’m just really happy about that. That was a good thing. It was a good run.”