Wayne Bookseller Helps Minneapolis Bookstore Rebuild After Fire

WAYNE, NJ — As the world watched Minneapolis burn following the death of George Floyd, it was unclear how many local businesses would be impacted.

But when Alexi Vandenberg woke up on May 30 in Wayne, New Jersey, he became immediately aware of the impact of the unrest on one of his favorite booksellers.

Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's, known as The Uncles, are two adjoined, genre-specific bookstores in Minneapolis. Edgar's focuses on mystery, and Hugo's primarily on science fiction.

Vandenberg says Hugo's is "a mecca for literary genre in science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror" and serves as "part museum, part bookstore." It is the oldest science fiction bookstore in the country.

As the owner of Bard's Tower in Wayne, Vandenberg related to what a loss of this nature could mean for a business. As the owner of Rabid Fanboy marketing, he understood what the stores meant to upcoming names in the industry.

And, perhaps most importantly, as a fan, Vandenberg understood what the literary community would be missing without Uncle Hugo's.

So he acted.

Vandenberg told Patch in an email exchange that he reached out to Uncle Hugo's owner Don Blyly when he heard the news. Understandably, Blyly didn't respond, Vandenberg says.

"Don was having probably the worst night of his life," he said.

Without any contact from Blyly, Vandenberg created a GoFundMe for the stores.

After a little confusion as to the source of the fundraiser from the family, Vandenberg handed over the fundraiser to Blyly's son, Sam Blyly-Strauss.

"It has always been my opinion that it is better to take action in a situation and, frankly, far easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission," said Vandenberg.

When Vandenberg handed over the fundraiser to Blyly-Strauss, it had raised almost $20,000. Now, over 2,000 people have donated, raising just under $140,000.

Blyly addressed the fundraiser, and initial confusion, in Publisher's Weekly.

"The guy from New Jersey who set up the GoFundMe page without permission was an honest guy just trying to help, but was over-eager," Blyly told Publisher's Weekly. "He transferred the site over to Uncle Hugo's. People no longer need fear that it is a scam from New Jersey."

A post to the fundraiser page says an insurance adjuster said Blyly will "be paid for approximately 90 percent of the wholesale value of the inventory within 30 days." A rebuild plan is still being developed, according to the June 6 post, and Blyly has yet to decide whether to rebuild on the same site as the previous location.

In addition to the fundraiser, Uncle Hugo's will soon begin selling Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's T-shirts and sweatshirts.

Messages of support have poured in for The Uncles' stores on social media, as many share fond memories of the legendary bookstore.

According to a Facebook post, The Star Tribune will publish a "collection of memories" in a Sunday edition this month.

A link to the GoFundMe can be found here.