Inside the last independent bookstore in Baton Rouge, narrow aisles divide packed and overflowing bookshelves. The hardcovers and paperbacks that fill the small building are interrupted by the occasional leather-bound copy.
At the front desk, store owner Danny Plaisance sits with his wife Nancy helping patrons find what they came for. A sign reads “ALL BOOKS 40% OFF.”
Cottonwood Books, located at 3054 Perkins Road, is closing, but some Baton Rouge residents won’t let it go down without a fight.
Plaisance bought Cottonwood Books in September of 1986 and has been running it since. But after nearly 36 years as a Baton Rouge mainstay, Cottonwood Books is shutting down.
Plaisance decided to sell the bookstore last October, after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to The Advocate. However, finding a buyer has been difficult.
“Although we have been approached by approximately 20 potential buyers,” Plaisance said, “we have not been able to secure a sale.”
Plaisance said one reason buyers haven’t followed through is that he does not own the building Cottonwood Books is based in. Other issues involved problems with finances and lease negotiations.
As the number of potential buyers fell, Plaisance began trying to sell his stock of more than 40,000 books.
One Baton Rouge resident is trying to save the store before it’s too late.
Sonny Cranch is a marketing veteran and long-time Baton Rouge resident. He is also a huge fan of Cottonwood Books.
“It’s iconic,” Cranch said. “I and a number of other people just don’t want it to go away.”
Cranch is leading a small group of residents to keep the store alive. The group hopes to raise enough money to compensate Plaisance fairly for both the store’s physical assets and the goodwill he built over several decades in the community.
Cranch is working to create a non-profit company, called The Cottonwood Project, to run the bookstore. Starting a non-profit can take months, Cranch said, so he started raising funds at once.
“It’s kind of shoot first, ask questions later,” Cranch said.
Cranch created a fundraiser on GoFundMe to accept donations from the public. So far, the group has raised $2,385 out of the project’s $150,000 goal.
Plaisance said Cranch, a long-time customer of Cottonwood Books, approached him with the plan after the store’s last potential buyer fell through. But Plaisance said he must continue the process of closing the store.
“We are so overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support from the community; we cannot express enough thanks. We appreciate the efforts of Sonny Cranch and his team,” Plaisance said in a post on the Cottonwood Books Facebook page. “However, due to health reasons, we must continue to liquidate during their process.”
Cranch said that Plaisance would try to remain open several weeks in August.
“That buys us a little more time to figure this out,” Cranch said, “but we are exploring every possibility.”
To get the word out, Cranch has taken to social media and spoke to several news agencies—including appearing on Baton Rouge public radio station WRKF to speak about The Cottonwood Project.
“We felt humbled that he was involved with many of our customers who wanted to preserve Cottonwood Books,” Plaisance said. “His efforts have really given us a ray of light in keeping the store alive for the community.”
Despite the race against time, Cranch says there is still hope for the local bookstore.
“Those who know me know that there’s always hope,” Cranch said.
