Midnight Special Shines a Light on Its New Location

Nearly three months after it temporarily closed its doors, Santa Monica independent bookstore Midnight Special announced that it had found a new location at 1450 2nd Street. The new store is less than a half-mile from its previous location on the Third Street Promenade.

In her e-mail announcement, Midnight Special owner Margie Ghiz wrote, "We look forward to re-joining you all! Thank you for the phone calls, thank you for the letters, thank you for the e-mail, thank you for leaving notes on the old storefront, thank you for the words of support on our Web site. Thank you for reminding us that the Midnight Special is still here."

The Midnight Special moved out of its Third Street location on February 24 due to the high rents on the Promenade. Interviewed just prior to the store's closing, Ghiz told BTW, "The Third Street Promenade has been taken over by chains…. They're 'billboard stores.' They write off [the rent cost] as advertising costs. But $45,000 is more than … most people earn in a year." Previously, Ghiz had an agreement with landlord Walter Marks of Walter Marks Realty, in which Marks took a percentage of sales as rent. However, when Marks retired the family decided that they could no longer afford to maintain this arrangement.

At present, Ghiz does not have an opening date for Midnight Special, though she hopes she will reopen in the new location within four to six weeks. She is planning a "grand opening season with great events to invite you back," she noted in her e-mail announcement. --David Grogan