12/03/2022
To all Friends of Cellar Stories:
It is no small feat for a bookstore to stick around as long as we have, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our loyal customers near and far, and our amazing community here in Providence. Sadly, we’ve been informed that we are not going to be able to stay in our current location, so after 40 years in business Cellar Stories will be closing its doors at the end of January.
Michael Chandley opened the store in 1982 with his friend Ray, a big dream, and very little money. The starting inventory came from their personal collections, and they worked opposite hours at the store so each could hold down a second job elsewhere- Mike at his family’s restaurant, Ray at B. Dalton. They managed a deal on rent for their first shop at 184 Mathewson doing odd jobs for the owner of the building, where they found an old 1917 National cash register in the basement (which we still use today). After a few years, Ray left to pursue other ventures, but Mike never tired of buying and selling books. The business changed and the inventory grew, prompting a move out of the cellar and into a first floor space at 190 Mathewson, and eventually down the street to our current location on the second floor of 111 Mathewson Street. Friends and family came out to help build shelves, move boxes, and organize the store.
Mike found help from a cohort of willing apprentices over the years, many of whom went on to pursue careers in the trade as booksellers, librarians, and writers. I’ve heard some of them refer to the store as “Mike Chandley’s Home for Wayward Girls,” as an overwhelming number of us started our employment as troubled young women, and upon leaving found ourselves educated, empowered, and slightly ‘reformed.’ I recently found a letter in Mike’s office from a former employee who summed up the experience pretty well: “I always felt that you were concerned about my well-being and prepared to intercede on my behalf but also trusted my ability to manage on my own…a steadily caring, un-hovering presence.”
I started working at Cellar Stories in 2014, and I quickly became aware that I had stumbled upon something truly special. It cannot quite be described- it's that feeling of searching for something you didn’t know you needed and suddenly finding it, like a treasure buried under years of dust. As Mike said in an interview with C-SPAN, “this is the greatest job in the world….never knowing what you’re going to see.”
Mike was my best friend for the four years we spent together. I learned so much from him, and I laughed so much because of him. He changed the whole course of my life for the better, and I can’t imagine what kind of person I’d be today if I hadn’t had the opportunity to work for him. I lost a big piece of my heart when he died and Providence lost an important part of its community. He was really something special. He could be stern and grumpy, but he was sweet and soft and kind, and he always had a little twinkle in his eye. He would give anyone a free book or a dollar for the bus if they needed it, but without hesitancy would tell you exactly what you could do with yourself if you pi**ed him off. I miss him a lot.
At his funeral, I got to meet some of the former staff, and we’ve stayed in touch. They’ve given me advice and guidance and helped me to navigate through these last few years- one of them even came back to work with me. Justine is now like a sister to me, the customers and friends we’ve made here are like our family, and Cellar Stories is our home. We’ve spent so many hours and days among the stacks (between the 2 of us almost 20 years). I could walk through the aisles with my eyes closed- I know every knot in the wood of the shelves, and every sub-section of every sub-section of every genre. Mike taught us well, and we are planning to start our own little book business after we leave.
Although it is very sad to say goodbye to Cellar Stories, I know Mike would be happy to see us keeping his legacy alive and proud to see all that we’ve accomplished. I don’t think anyone thought the store would make it 40 years, or that it would become such an important place to so many people. It will always be a special place to me, and I know I will never take for granted everything I’ve learned here.
We hope you will keep this place in your hearts too. Come say your farewells, share with us your stories and your memories, hug your favorite shelf, use up your store credit and redeem your gift certificates before it’s too late. Always support your local bookstores, be nice to your booksellers, and most importantly BUY BOOKS.
Thank you for everything.
-Vic
