Cody’s Is Turning Japanese
Shortly after the public outcry over the loss of Cody’s Books on Telegraph, it seems that there might have been yet another reason to close the location - to make the chain more appealable to potential buyers. The chain has been purchased by Yohan, Inc., an independent Japanese book distribution corporation.
Now, I won’t deny that the decline of Telegraph, the failures of the city to promote local businesses, and other problems still exist in Berkeley. But this move knocks all of them down a peg. Cody’s was lost on Southside because of numbers on a spreadsheet and zeroes after a dollar sign, not political problems.
And ultimately, that makes this story even more sad. I don’t know what the final sales price is for the Cody’s franchise, but apparently, it was enough to suffocate decades of rich history. I open the floor for someone to explain exactly what makes Cody’s any better than Borders or Barnes and Noble now.
