SAN ANTONIO – A bookstore on the South Side of San Antonio sent out a plea for help on Twitter when it found itself struggling to stay open earlier this month after money for rent came up short. 

  • Store had to close for a month
  • Struggled to pay rent money
  • Tweet brought in a lot of support

The Tweet sent shockwaves of support for Dead Tree Books.

"We weren’t really begging, we weren't asking for it, we were just putting it out there. You know, ‘If you want us to stay, come on in,’" -- Kenneth Johnson, Dead Tree Books co-owner.

Support from all around the community poured in weeks after the now viral Tweet. 

"People were coming in just in droves. Coming in, checking us out, buying books, buying more books, buying more books. It was just fantastic,” said Johnson. 

Johnson and his wife first opened the bookstore in 2016. It's the only bookstore located on the city's southside. About a year ago in September 2018, things took a turn for the worse when Johnson was diagnosed with diabetes. 

"They worked on one of the valves, replaced one of the valves in my heart. When that happened, of course I couldn’t be here at work,” said Johnson.

After shutting down the bookstore for a month in September of 2018, business took a sharp decline. Since then, rebounding has been very difficult according to Johnson. 

The couple would soon have to say goodbye to the bookstore. Then as one final push for help, Johnson's wife took to Twitter. 

Since the Tweet has gone viral, customers aren’t just stepping to make sure books get purchased off the bookshelves, but business leaders in San Antonio are making sure Dead Tree Books maintains its longevity.

"We got in touch with people from the small business development center at UTSA and they’re looking at the business trying to see how we can rearrange things in order to become a viable business," said Johnson. 

Johnson hopes they can continue to stay afloat thanks to the viral boost in business. He hopes folks continue to come and check out the variety of books, CD's and video classics the store has to offer.