Borders Will Close Doors in May

Manager Glenn Stewart confirmed rumors Thursday that Borders in Shrewsbury will be closing its doors in six to nine weeks.

"It is a big loss for the community," said Stewart of the closing. "I am extremely proud of the things we've been able to accomplish in the last four years since I've been here including kids events, tent sales and our open mic night, which has grown from about 20 people to over 100 people every Friday night."

As a result of the store closing, Friday is the last night for the open mic program, and currently the coordinator is looking for another venue to house the musicians and the weekly crowd.

"It's really unfortunate that the store is closing," said Patrick McCarthy, who took over two years ago as the coordinator and is a musician himself, playing acoustic guitar. "It's a reality that bookstores are an endangered species. It's too easy to get stuff on the Internet."

As a Holden resident, McCarthy said he frequented Borders because of the open mic and the many varied programs they offered at the store.

"The crowd at the open mic nights has become a family—there are a lot of young, talented musicians and the crowd has kept coming, especially after we knew that Borders needed the support," McCarthy said. "On Friday night, I'll be gathering contact information so we can make sure that people know of a new place where we can continue to do the open mic program."

McCarthy asked any community members or business owners to come down on Friday night and let him know if they'd be willing to house the open mic program, which has proven to be successful over the years.

"It's really sad for the employees as well," McCarthy said. "They've been so supportive and they are really great to us."

According to Borders' corporate website, the Shrewsbury store will be closing in May 2011. Other locations closing in Massachusetts include: Boston (511 Boylston St.), Braintree, newly added, (255 Grossman Dr.), Burlington (6 Wayside Rd.), Holyoke (50 Holyoke St.), Hyannis (990 Iyannough Rd.), Peabody (151 Andover St.), and Wareham (2421 Cranberry Highway).