San Francisco’s 44-year-old progressive bookseller, Modern Times is for sale. After three moves, one displacement,
many attempts to bolster the business, and 44 years of service to the progressive community, the store has reached a crossroads. As its longest standing member and primary stakeholder, Ruth Mahaney, prepares for retirement, the store’s legacy as a left wing arts and cultural institution hangs in the balance. Unless, that is, a buyer with the right touch comes along…
“Our original fantasy of the store was to be an arm of the progressive movement,” says Mahaney from behind the counter of what in essence, after years of sweat equity invested, is her bookstore. “But we are non-sectarian. I think what we’re most proud of is that we’ve stayed on good terms with just about every group out there.”
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Filed under: Arts and Culture, Book news, San Francisco News, Tales of the Gentrification City, counter culture, Modern Times Bookstore Collective
Denise Sullivan 