Atlantic Books Going Out of Business

On a recent Tuesday morning, the Atlantic Books store off Doc Cramer Boulevard in Manahawkin was unusually lively. People roamed the book aisles, picked up educational products for kids and scanned greeting cards. But a sense of loss permeated the typical pre-holiday bustle.

Last month the Atlantic Books company closed its resort community shops, including outlets in Ocean City and in Beach Haven. Now, after close to 37 years in business, the beloved small southern New Jersey chain is shutting its remaining doors. This includes the Atlantic Books store in Manahawkin, which first opened in 2003. Depending on how quickly the inventory sells out, the store will cease to be sometime around the end of January, according to the chain’s owner, Mark Simon.

“We started seeing sales decline about four years ago,” said Simon. “We tried to change our merchandising to accommodate the changes that were happening in the industry, bringing in more children’s products and educational products, but our expenses continued to grow, and our sales continued to fall.”

When it became apparent that things would not be improving, Simon and his co-owner Ross Laufgraben decided to go out of business, rather than attempt to weather the tough times and risk bankruptcy.

According to Simon, the “rapidly changing landscape of retail bookselling” caused the fall of his stores, the same conditions that forced Borders out of business. He contended that Barnes and Noble, though doing better because of their invention of the Book Nook, an e-reader product, will not stick around forever, either.

“My managers and my staff are terrific people, and I am sorry this is happening to them as well as to me,” said Simon. “But the bottom line is, I think the day of the chain bookstore is gone.”

“I feel bad,” said Manahawkin resident Annette Maddalena. "They were so convenient. It’s our only bookstore. Now all we have left in town is the library.”

Key holder Della Segotta started working here eight years ago when the store first opened. She thought she would retire here, Segotta said. “I’ve watched [some of our customers] grow up,” she said. “They were little when I first started, and now they’re taller than me, and have graduated high school. I’ll miss them. I’ll miss it all.”