Beloved Oak Park bookstore Book Table is set to close after 21 years

Owners of the Book Table in Oak Park are ready to turn the page and will close the doors on the beloved store after 21 years in business.

Jason Smith and Rachel Weaver opened the store, at 1045 Lake St., on July 26, 2003.

At the time, the store was just one of four bookstores in the area, and they saw a need in the community for a store that sold discounted and used books.

"If someone came in looking for an SAT prep book, we could direct them to the other store down the street, and instead we could focus on our highly curated group of books," Smith said.

But over time, things changed.

The demand for new books grew as other stores started shutting down, and in 2011 Smith and Weaver made the decision to expand the store and their inventory.

"In a lot of ways we had to grow up because we didn’t have the backup down the street," he said. "Our store evolved from being that initial concept to becoming a new bookstore because we needed to fill the void that was left in the community when the other stores closed down.

"The only constant is that Rachel and I are still here," Smith said.

But the pandemic hit the store hard.

"That period of selling books, nothing about it was pleasant, and we got into a bit of a funk," Smith said. "We were constantly worrying about keeping our staff safe, worrying about keeping our customers safe. We thought that after everything returned to normal, we would be able to shake it off and everything would be fine, but we’ve found that we haven’t fully shaken it off, and it’s time."

The decision to close was personal and not financial, they said.

Smith and Weaver, 49 — who have been booksellers for more than 30 years — said they felt they could no longer dedicate the time and devotion the store needed.

"No one gets into the bookstore business to get rich," Smith said. "The bookstore has always been what it was supposed to be, which is a marginally profitable business run by people who adore it and books. But if at some point one of those is no longer true and the love isn’t quite there, then it's a problem."

However, Smith said he's grateful for the support the community has shown them throughout the years.

"It’s not just our love of books that kept us going this long, it was our love of this community," he said. "We have the world's greatest customers, and they have supported us in every way possible. We could not possibly be more grateful for every one of them."

As for the couple's next chapter? They're not quite sure.

"To be honest, we don’t know," Smith said. "We don’t know how not to focus on the store. So until the day that we close, that’s what we’ll continue to do. And the day after that, we’ll figure out what life means after it.

Smith said there is no set closing date, but beginning Aug. 8, all books will be discounted an additional 10% and the sale will grow as their inventory gets lower.

Down the block, the Cozy Corner Cozy Restaurant, a breakfast staple in the community, closed last week after 65 years in business over rent disputes and difficulty finding a new home.