At the end of August, Bold Fork Books in Washington, DC announced that it was closing its doors at the end of September. I didn't report on the announcement right away because I hoped someone would swoop in to save the store, but it does not appear that a superhero will arrive. Bold Fork opened its doors in October 2020, meaning that the store's run will end at exactly six years.

In an Instagram post, the owners described the challenges that they, along with other independent bookstores, face in a world where online shopping is king and inflation is putting strain on household budgets. “Business has slowed, costs have gone up, and there's no indication these trendlines will change anytime soon. Like so many of our fellow small businesses, we've tried to come up with solutions, but the fundamentals have become insurmountable,” co-owners Clementine Thomas and Sam Vasfi said. The Washington, DC area has been hammered in the past two years with layoffs driving a cooling business climate. According to a recent survey, there has been a 31% drop in business revenue across the DC metro.

Bold Forks is going out with a bang: there are six events scheduled between now and the end of the month, and the store is hosting a 20% off sale this Saturday and Sunday for both in-store and online purchases. It's sad to lose another cookbook store, especially since this closure leaves the region without one. The closest cookbook stores are Binding Agents in Philadelphia (139 miles away) and Food Temptress in Virginia Beach (209 miles away).