Strand Bookstore Finds A Way To Sell Online Amid Coronavirus

EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN — Iconic bookstore The Strand's appeal to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to name book delivery an essential service during the coronavirus pandemic may have been denied, but the East Village shop has still found a way to get books to its customers.

The Strand has partnered with book delivery company Ingram to start shipping books from its newly-launched website on Saturday.

The online option comes about a month after The Strand temporarily laid off the majority of its staff as it explored how to stay afloat with its store closed during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, the deliveries seem to be doing the trick, staff told Patch.

"We saw a huge influx of orders over the weekend and are so thankful for everyone's support and patience as we work to get back on track," Communications Director James Case Odum said Monday.

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The Strand originally asked to be added to the state's list of "essential businesses" allowed to stay open during New York's stay-at-home order so that it could send about 10 employees into the store to work on the deliveries.

That request was denied, Odum said, but the partnership with Ingram lets the store at least ship new books, meaning it doesn't need to head into The Strand's store or warehouse.

The Strand closed its Broadway and East 12th Street store a week before the government mandate to shut down.

The temporary lay-off of most of its staff had been the first mass layoff in its nearly century-long history. The store continued to pay staff for at least a week and worked with providers to extend health insurance as long as possible, owner Nancy Bass Wyden said at the time.

"We know that it is is our booksellers that make The Strand so beloved, so our goal is to get through this so we can rehire every employee as soon as possible," she wrote. "...After a century of beating the odds, we won't give up now."

The coronavirus-led closures has also put the opening date for The Strand's new Upper West Side location in limbo.

The store, which is taking over Book Culture's space on Columbus Avenue, was scheduled to open in the beginning of April. Odum said Monday that the opening is pushed back until the state's stay-at-home order is lifted and it is allowed to open.

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