A New Chapter for Independent Bookstores on the Upper West Side

Bibliophiles on the Upper West Side are rejoicing.

The shuttered Shakespeare & Co. store at 2020 Broadway, between West 69th and 70th Streets is being taken over by the Strand, a bookstore mainstay in Greenwich Village for nearly 100 years.

This marks the Strand’s second Upper West Side store, joining its existing shop at 450 Columbus Avenue between West 81st and West 82nd Streets. Its flagship location downtown at 12th Street and Broadway has operated since 1927.

Shakespeare & Co. closed its doors in April after more than four decades of intermittent presence in the neighborhood. The bookstore first opened in 1983 on West 81st Street and was famously featured in When Harry Met Sally. That original store shut down in 1996, but the company returned in 2018 with the Broadway location, now revived under the Strand banner. Shakespeare & Co.’s other New York locations, including one on the Upper East Side and another at Broadway and 105th Street, also closed earlier this year.

“Shakespeare & Co. was closing, and it felt important to us to make sure that the neighborhood didn’t lose another independent bookstore,” said Strand marketing director Kat Pongrace. “We wanted to pick up the mantle left by Shakespeare & Co, in a neighborhood which clearly needs and values their indie bookstore.”

“We have seen such an outpouring of love from the neighborhood since we opened our doors, and we feel deeply committed to Lincoln Square as a place where books belong.”

Strand has made several updates to the new space, including repainting the shelves, expanding the children’s section, and installing a display dedicated to books about New York City. “We love being a space for families to come and share their love of books with their children and with each other,” Pongrace said. “Providing more physical space that prioritizes young New Yorkers on their literacy journey is a huge priority for us.”

The store offers new, used, and rare books, and leans into the Strand’s deep New York roots. “Both embrace the mission of independent bookselling and serving as a community hub, but Strand’s 98-year commitment to serving readers a depth of selection across used, new, and rare books is unwavering. In addition to new, used, and rare book offerings,” Pongrace said. “We lean into our New York history with a prominent New York section of book and gift items.”

A café at the front of the store is expected to reopen once permits are finalized. In the meantime, rare books are being displayed in the glass pastry cases. “Our first Strand-run cafe: what an opportunity for literary puns!” Pongrace noted.

The Strand says it also intends to build out an events program tailored specifically to the Lincoln Square neighborhood. “It is our intention to build an events program in alignment with other Strand stores but specific to the needs and personality of Lincoln Square,” Pongrace said. “We’re thrilled to be setting up shop in such proximity to programming at Lincoln Center, uplifting our shared purpose in promoting and supporting the Arts.”

All former Shakespeare & Co. staff at this store were invited to stay on under the new ownership. “We kept all the booksellers and baristas who wanted to stay on, and we are so grateful to have retained the management team Cassie [Wooley] and Karen [Brisette] to lead us into this new era of bookselling in Lincoln Square,” Pongrace said. “Their neighborhood knowledge and connection is really unparalleled and we are so lucky to have them on board.”