A Latino institution struggles to stay open

Dwindling customers may put Ruebén Martinez's Libreria Martinez out of business.

By Tony Barboza | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

May 6, 2008

When Ruebén Martinez set up his bookshop in an old Santa Ana furniture store a decade ago, he bargained the landlord down to half-price rent, saying he sold books, not diamonds.

But despite its renown as one of the nation's largest Latino-themed bookstores, Librería Martinez, owned by the barber-turned-MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" winner, may be forced to close by year's end.

Sales are down 50% from a year ago and bills are piling up. A new landlord, the Orange County High School of the Arts, which wants to use the store for classrooms, has given Martinez a year to find a new location.

"I knew I was never going to get rich selling books," Martinez said. "But the crowds are not what they used to be."

The store that began as a shelf in Martinez's barbershop in 1993 has grown into a local institution with an international draw, bringing in hundreds of authors, such as literary giants Isabel Allende, Julia Alvarez and Carlos Fuentes and high-profile speakers, including Nobel Peace Prize-winning Costa Rica President Oscar Arias.

Anchored by Martinez's mission -- to get people of all ages to read, in English or Spanish -- the store has prospered as a community center, holding English and music classes, and where residents can attend a poetry reading or pick up a book or magazine.

A sign outside commands "¡Todos a Leer!" -- Let's Read, Everyone!

They may be reading, but lately they're not buying enough.

Martinez's troubles mirror those familiar to nearly every independent bookshop: rising rent, fewer people buying books, and competition from online and big-box retailers that can offer discounts.

The Brentwood literary landmark Dutton's closed last month. Another Latino bookstore, Tia Chucha's in the San Fernando Valley, last year had to move after the landlord tripled the rent and replaced it with a laundromat.

"We don't have bookstores in most neighborhoods in the L.A. area," said owner Luis Rodriguez. "Everybody talks about how literacy is so important, so there's got to be ways to help with rent subsidies."

Martinez's store, a single-story red tile-roof building with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, is on downtown Santa Ana's Main Street, surrounded by office buildings. An alley separates the shop from its children's section in a building next door. Cars whiz by, but there is little foot traffic.

Santa Ana, the center of Orange County's Spanish-speaking immigrant community, is an area where some might see limited economic opportunity.

Martinez saw a platform to promote reading to a young and growing population.

A barber by training, Martinez garnered national attention when the MacArthur Foundation in 2004 awarded him a $500,000 fellowship for promoting literacy. The money, spread out over five years and not restricted in its use, has gone to start a nonprofit that offers after-school classes and tutoring. He has used some of the grant to pay the store's bills.

Martinez, 68, with thick, graying hair, a robust mustache and frameless glasses, holds the heavy glass door for customers and picks up trash on the sidewalk outside.

On a recent afternoon, he dug through crowded shelves with both hands, offering up titles of self-help books, Danielle Steel novels, Bibles and Latin American poetry. A John Grisham novel, translated into Spanish, sits next to English translations of essays by Mexican intellectuals.

He picks up "Don Quixote." "This book was written 400 years ago," he said. "It's dead until you open it up."

His usually animated voice lowers when asked about the prospect of closing.