Another one bites the dust on South Congress, even if it appeared that the street could chug along into 2023 without losing another small business after Tesoros and Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds called it quits this year.
This week, South Congress Books announced that it was moving out of the area despite reporting that “business has never been better.” The issue for the 11-year-old bookstore, it seems, is a familiar one.
“It may not surprise many of you to learn that we have been priced out of South Congress, so we are moving in January,” reads an Instagram post from Wednesday, December 28. “Why the short notice? We have been negotiating down to the wire and just signed a new lease last week.”
January 8 will be the store’s last day on South Congress. In March, the bookshop will relocate to 3703 Kerbey Lane, across from the original location of the longtime Austin diner.
In the meantime, analog book readers can stop by for a 20 percent off sale from January 2-8. In between the store’s closure and its reopening in March, fans of the store’s offerings can stop by Uncommon Objects, inside which there is a small outpost of South Congress Books.
Uncommon Objects moved off South Congress in 2017, portending a shift away from what the street used to be. The reason the vintage and antiques emporium is now located off Ben White Boulevard? They were, of course, priced out.