McNally Robinson

Sarah McNally does not feel like an underdog. So please, everybody, stop trying to convince her that she should. Yes, it’s true that she owns a small, independent bookstore and is thus competing for business with some pretty big corporations. But no, she’s not scared of them, because she thinks her store is better.

“People love writing the story of independent bookstores being foolhardy and failing,” she said last Friday afternoon, perched noncommittally on a couch in the living room of her new Brooklyn apartment. “People love that story, and that’s almost the only thing I get called about. A bookstore closes somewhere in Manhattan or in New Jersey, and someone calls and wants a quote about, you know, how grim it is to be an independent bookstore.  read more »

Sarah McNally opened her Nolita bookstore, McNally Robinson, about three and a half years ago. It turned profitable just two years later, and now she is laying plans to build another one, four times as big, probably in Chelsea but maybe somewhere on the Upper West Side.

Ms. McNally, who at 32 has become a beloved figure in New York literary circles thanks in part to all the readings she hosts at her store, said she hopes the new location will be around 25,000 square feet in size, and that it will feature a large event space and a European-style cafe-restaurant that serves wine, coffee and food. She predicts that the new McNally store will cost about $3 million to build and stock.  read more »