” We are sad to announce the closing of La Joie de Vivre, due to economic reasons “. It was with these words that the French and Francophile community suddenly learned of the closure of Cyril Dewavrin’s bookstore in Chelsea. What a disappointment!
French Morning visited it in December 2023, when the establishment was still just a pop up. At the time, the bookseller had already warned: “It is impossible in New York to amortize your costs by selling only books.” Hence the idea of backing the bookstore with a café where the margin on the slats and the matcha is much more comfortable.
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A few months later, the bookstore and its café finally opened after a year and a half of work, setbacks and annoyances. Cyril Dewavrin said he was relieved: he could finally start his job as a bookseller. The hardest part remained, however, which consisted of attracting and retaining Francophile, French-speaking readers, but also American readers since half of the bookstore offered books in English. There were improbable nuggets there, reflecting the bookseller’s tastes, but also classics and new releases.
Very quickly, the bookstore had organized meetings, diversified its offer by proposing gifts and stationery. Its walls could also serve as picture rails for impromptu hangings. And then there was the café where we tasted delicious pastries (we had a weakness for lemon tarts) while reading the book we had just bought. I hadn’t realized how much work this diversification required.explains Cyril Dewavrin. I would have had to be everywhere and I didn’t pay enough attention to detail.. »
Faithful but strong economic pressure
Moreover, the location was difficult, a few blocks from Penn Station, the hub for millions of hurried travelers, on 27th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues. A neighborhood that no one would have identified as “cultural,” very far from a Greenwich Village for example. And that is what pleased the local residents who welcomed the opening of a cultural venue with great enthusiasm. Location wasn’t the real problemexplains the bookseller. Our customers came from all over, Brooklyn, New Jersey “.
The Joy of Living soon had its regulars: lovers – often women lovers – of the French language who came every day to sit down with a drink and a book. Others were just passing by for a latte to go. ” But not enoughrecognizes Cyril Dewavrin. A year after opening, turnover had not increased and I was only halfway to my objectives. ».
In this city of superlatives, property taxes are skyrocketing. I thought I could amortize it by reselling the original pop-up store. But eleven months after it was put on the market, we haven’t received any offers. ». Fatigue began to weigh on the shoulders of the bookseller who felt he had to ” do everything alone, in a country that I was discovering, with only a two-year visa ” The figure does not increase, and ” margins remain below what I had expected “By his own admission, Cyril Dewavrin is in denial. When he becomes aware of the situation, it is too late. ” The bookstore managed to take its first steps, to grow, but not enough to face the economic pressure “Very surrounded by his family who came to help him close shop, Cyril Dewavrin returned to France.
But on the morning of September 19, customers found a lowered curtain instead of an opening to the world.
