Co-owner/founder Ann Christopherson confirmed today that the Women & Children First Book Store is for sale. | SUN-TIMES PHOTO
The Women & Children First book store in Andersonville is looking for a buyer.
The iconic bookseller is up for sale after more than three decades of doing business “as one of the largest feminist bookstores in the country.”
“We’ve been talking about it for over a year,” said co-owner/founder Linda Bubon. “I really hope to get the message out that we are NOT selling out and we are in NO hurry to sell. We really want the store to continue on as Women and Children First. The sale is absolutely contingent on that.”
Bubon said the time is right for the sale.
Linda Bubon is one of the co-owners/founders of the Women & Children Book Store in Andersonville. The store is for sale after 34 years as one of the leading feminist bookstores in the country. | SUN-TIMES PHOTO
“We wanted to make the store available for sale when it’s on really solid ground, which it is,’ Bubon said. “And I turned 62 this year. Ann will be 65 next year. And frankly it’s age, and I hate to say that. The 60s are significantly different than the 50s. I just don’t have the stamina and the energy because it’s a very physical job running a book store. And I do a lot of offsite events and conferences where I’m packing and loading and hauling 15 or 16 boxes of books and then unloading them at a hotel or school and back again.”
Bubon said she doesn’t rule out the possibility of continuing on with Women & Children even after the sale.
“I think I would want to work part time here for a few years, if the new owner would see it as a good idea,” Bubon said. I think I can still be an asset. I think it would be a great help in making the transition from our ownership to someone else’s. … You’re not gonna make a million dollars here, but you’re gonna find soul satisfaction that you won’t find anywhere else.”
