CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Next month, Book Buyers will turn the final page on being at their location off Central Avenue and The Plaza. New development is forcing them to move to a new location by January 31.

A local developer will transform the tight-knit community of small businesses into a hub of luxury apartments, retail and office space.

Their landlord gave them the option to either pay double their rent or leave. That means they’d go from paying about $6,000 every month to nearly $11,000. 

Spectrum News 1 has reached out to the landlord for comment.

Lee Rathers calls the current location prime real estate, keeping her busy with both old and new customers.

“We see all of these new people every day that have never been in. They just walk by and they come in and they say, ‘Wow this place is really cool,’” she said.

Her dad opened the store in 1999, and Rathers started working there just a couple years later.  

Over the years, they’ve been recognized in local publications as a landmark of the area. 

But today, recognition isn’t enough to help them stay. 

A few months ago, their landlord told them their rent would nearly double, going from paying $17 per square foot to up to $30 a square foot. 

Realizing there’s no way she could pay close to $11,000 every month, Rathers was disappointed to say the least.

She held onto the lease termination letter.

“'Please be advised that the monthly tenancy is hereby terminated as of the end of the day on January 31st,’” Rathers read.

It's forcing them to take their books elsewhere.

Like Rathers, customers don’t want the store to leave the area. 

“Just offering their sympathy or wanting to help out,” Rathers said of customers.

By February, the smooth jazz tunes, and unique character Book Buyers brings will be in a new home, like many other businesses forced out by the neighborhood's overhaul.

“A lot of them have moved to Eastway Crossing, which is where we’re going to be heading,” said Rathers. “It’ll be like the new Plaza Midwood over there!”

She’s looking at the bright side.

“It’s a new chapter for us in book terms. We’ll keep going, and we’ll make new memories and new friends,” she said.

Rathers says they’ll open doors at Eastway Crossing Shopping Center by February 1. It’s two miles away from Plaza Midwood. The new space is about the same size as their current location, and rent will cost about as much as they’re paying now, too.