Burn All Books fights rising rents

Bookstores are having a weird moment. More indie shops are opening, readers keep showing up for events, and niche stores still have real energy. But the math underneath a physical storefront is getting harsher — especially in expensive neighborhoods. That tension is the whole story behind Burn All Books in San Diego, which is trying to stay alive by being much more than a place that sells books. (kpbs.org) ### What is Burn All Books, exactly? Burn All Books is not a standard bookstore with bestsellers stacked by the register. It started as a risograph publisher and print studio, and now runs as a hybrid space for artist books, zines, alternative comics, prints, gifts, workshops, and community programming. It shares its Adams Avenue(kpbs.org)nventory. (kpbs.org) ### What changed this week? The immediate news is simple — rent. KPBS profiled the store on May 4 and laid out the pressure clearly: co-founders Amanda and Nick Bernal are facing their third rent increase in three years, with another jump coming in July. That kind of repeated increase is hard for any small retailer, but it hits bookstores especially hard because books are low-margin goods and foot traffic is never perfectly predictable. (kpbs.org) ### How bad is the increase? Pretty bad. Amanda Bernal said the business used to pay about $3,000 a month when it only occupied the bookstore space. With the added gallery area and the latest increases, the total is set to reach about $5,750 a month for roughly 1,200 square feet. That is a huge change for a small independent operation — not the kind of jump you can cover by selling a few more paperbacks. (kpbs.org) ### Why can’t a bookstore just sell more books? Because the bookstore business is rarely just about books anymore. New books do not leave much room after wholesale costs, staffing, and rent. The stores that look healthiest now usually have a second engine — events, memberships, gifts, café sales, online orders, classes, or a very(kpbs.org)of acting like a traditional retail shop. (kpbs.org) ### Isn’t indie bookselling supposed to be booming? Yes — and that is the twist. The American Booksellers Association said at least 56 brick-and-mortar independents closed in the U.S. in 2025, but the broader picture is still one of growth, with 422 new independently owned bookstores opening that year and the U.S. total rising sh(kpbs.org) engagement. So demand is real. Survival is just uneven. (kpbs.org) ### Why do niche stores keep popping up then? Because niche can create loyalty that general retail cannot. Romance bookstores are the clearest example right now. Romancing the Data’s tracker showed 259 physical romance bookstores worldwide in March 2026, up from 218 at the end of 2025. That kind of growth suggests readers will su(kpbs.org)ilar logic from the art-zine side rather than the romance side. (blog.romancingthedata.com) ### So what’s the real business model now? Community, basically. Events bring people in. Shared space spreads costs. Highly curated stock gives people a reason to visit in person. Online tools help capture sales that would otherwise leak away. The old model was “sell books from a storefront.” The newer model is “run a cultural hub that also sells books.” Burn All Books look(blog.romancingthedata.com)ection more indies have to go. (kpbs.org) ### Bottom line? Burn All Books matters because it shows both sides of the indie bookstore story at once. Readers still want physical spaces, and small shops can still grow by being distinctive. But if rent keeps rising faster than revenue, even beloved stores will need to become something broader — part bookstore, part venue, part community infrastructure — just to stay in the neighborhood. (kpbs.org)