GREENFIELD — With World Eye Bookshop’s closure at the turn of the year after more than half a century in the city, it joins a list of longtime Main Street staples that have shuttered in recent years.

On Dec. 31, the store’s Facebook page made a post advertising the sale of all bookcases, merchandise display racks and other items, which was then followed up with a photo of a book with “The End” printed on otherwise blank pages.

Several attempts to reach store owner Tim Ballou, who took over the store in August 2020, since January have been unsuccessful.

The store, it appears, had been facing financial difficulties for several years, according to a My Turn letter written by Ballou that was published in the June 14, 2023 edition of the Greenfield Recorder and a 2024 GoFundMe that was shared on World Eye Bookshop’s Facebook page.

In his 2023 column, Ballou wrote that the store had suffered a 50% decline in sales over the previous decade from 2010 to 2019 — “mostly due to consumers moving online” — and implored folks to support local businesses instead of shopping online.

“When the [pandemic] lockdown was lifted and we were able to offer in-store service, it soon became clear that around 40% of our customers did not return when the doors reopened,” Ballou wrote. “Your shopping decisions shape the community you live in. … If you want local businesses to survive, shop locally and get your friends and family to do the same.”

With World Eye Bookshop’s closure, it joins two other Main Street mainstays that have closed in the last five years. Wilson’s Department Store, which was one of the last independent, family-owned department stores in the country, closed in January 2020, shortly after Kevin J. O’Neil, former president of the 137-year-old retail store, announced his plans to retire. The department store lasted 137 years and served as an anchor to downtown Greenfield.

Also in recent years, Baker Office Supply owner William and Roberta Baker announced the closure of their business in 2023, after nearly 90 years as a Main Street fixture. The store, which originally opened as a bookstore in 1936, sold everything from janitorial supplies and coffee to traditional office goods and other items.

World Eye Bookshop opened in 1969 on Miles Street under the stewardship of Charles Miller and Lynn Perry, who owned the store until they sold it to Cree Windus and Antha Smith in 1978. The bookshop then moved 58 Federal St. for decades until a fire tore through the building and destroyed the store. Undeterred, Windus and Smith moved to Main Street later that year, according to the Recorder’s archives. At one point, the store even had a brief stint in the Recorder’s Hope Street building.

Windus and Smith maintained the store for decades before selling it to longtime employee Jessica Mullins in 2010. Mullins also made major moves for the longtime fixture, as she purchased the Magical Child toy store and consolidated the businesses in 2017.

But, much like Ballou, Mullins also saw the business struggle in the modern era of Amazon and other online retailers. In May 2015, she put out a call to the community stating she would need to sell $15,000 worth of merchandise by the end of a week or she would need to close the shop. The plea appeared to work and the store remained open.

A GoFundMe was launched in June 2024 to support World Eye Bookshop, but support was limited, as only $2,125 was raised toward the $30,000 goal.

“Over the past 7 months, these 35 people made donations totaling 7% of our needed goal,” the store said in a Dec. 23 Facebook post, which was prefaced with “FINAL APPEAL.” “We need to see some more of the 3100+ Facebook followers join in if we are going to pay the bills so we can be here in January!”

Diana Roberts, a Greenfield resident who worked at World Eye Bookshop for seven years, wrote in a letter to the editor on Feb. 14 that the business’ closure was a loss for the community. She added in a Feb. 19 phone interview that there were plenty of loyal customers who continued to support the business through the pandemic and the store was a part of history for longtime Greenfield residents.

“As an employee, I had a wonderful time connecting with the local community in a way I hadn’t experienced before. People were very kind and pretty much everyone was happy to be there for whatever purchase: books, puzzles, games, coloring books, stickers, art supplies, etc.,” Roberts wrote, adding that it was a place for people to meet up and reconnect. “My boss, Tim, did a lot of outreach and extra care for home-bound customers who will never be able to replace that.”

While the store served as a place to pick up new bestsellers, World Eye Bookshop also served as a venue for local authors and vendors of all kinds to sell their products to the Franklin County community. Alden Dreyer, a Shelburne-based vendor and historian who sold his annual Franklin County Railroad Calendar at the store, echoed Roberts’ thoughts that World Eye Bookshop’s closure is a sad moment for Greenfield.

“It’s obvious that a lot of people had a lot of sentimental value, emotional value, invested into the World Eye. I know I did,” Dreyer said. “I appreciate the books he did sell and he gave me a local outlet. I appreciate the opportunity.”

Business development on Main Street

World Eye Bookshop isn’t the only store to shutter in recent months, as The Imaginary Bookshop also closed its doors at the end of January.

Greenfield Business Association Director Hannah Rechtschaffen said the closure of local businesses is always disappointing (World Eye Bookshop was not a member, but The Imaginary Bookshop was) and the GBA is working to ensure folks are supported during a difficult economy.

“We are in a moment of real flux for businesses and one of the biggest focal points for the GBA is increasing foot traffic, which is, of course, connected to some very big conversations about housing developments and the city,” Rechtschaffen said. “We do recognize that small business is impacted by so many national trends and the way that people consume things. We are really focused on rebuilding a sense of local dedication and pride that people have in local businesses and choosing to come downtown and see what’s here.”

As with all industries, but especially the book industry, Rechtschaffen said small businesses are always going to be swimming against the current because the convenience and price points from marketplaces like Amazon can be tough to beat.

Instead, she said, consumers have to make a conscious choice to support local, otherwise it becomes tough for a business to survive. And once one goes down, the reputation hit a commercial district receives can then bleed into neighboring businesses.

“At some point we’ve got to change the narrative that there’s nothing downtown because that hurts the businesses that are here,” she said. “People have got to make the decision to support local.”

As the year rolls on, Rechtschaffen said the GBA will continue to support workshops on “micro-interventions” that businesses can use to help them grow, such as using the graphic design program Canva, managing social media or taking advantage of artificial intelligence tools.

The GBA is also pushing visitgreenfieldma.com, which publishes community events and can help people find a specific business or service in Greenfield.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.

An earlier version of this story inaccurately described World Eye Bookshop’s first location. It was located in the building at 191 Main St. with an entrance on Miles Street. The structure was destroyed in a fire on Dec. 27, 1972.