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I disagree that this is necessarily less risky than investing in a new bookstore of the same variety. I don't know what's up here, but I do know that they got a decent pile o' cash when they sold the name, and they closed the cafe they said was a money drain. And they still need money to fund operations after all that? Honestly, this seems like it needs to be evaluated on a "going concern" basis, ifyaknowwhatImean. The current plan, to sell shares of the place to the customers and become more like a co-op, may be a terrible idea. Such a plan might complicate chapter 11, and that may be what needs to happen. A lot of small businesses like this need to reorganize to shed debt once in a while, and they may be no different. But it's worth noting that if there's an excess of bookstores vs what the market will support, then there's an excess of bookstores. One that's having trouble getting enough customers to pay the bills is in a very similar situation to a brand new start-up, and one way out may well be a reorganization to get a fresh start. Should the City play a role in this sort of thing? It seems to me like a terrible can of worms. Of course, no one is suggesting this should be done generally -- yet. That's what disturbs me. Erik Hare [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.comcast.net/~wabbitoid/ Irvine Park, West End, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, North America, Earth Fine Amish furniture, cedar chests, and crafts http://www.harmonycedar.com _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
