Webster’s Bookstore Cafe is close to solidifying plans for a modest temporary home in downtown State College, store co-owner Elaine Meder-Wilgus said Tuesday night.
Speaking before 30 people at a Friends of Webster’s meeting, Meder-Wilgus said she hopes to finalize a three- to six-month lease for the short-term spot. If it materializes, she said, she will be able to run a scaled-down book store and offer basic coffee and food items there.
Meder-Wilgus is keeping the location confidential until a lease is finalized, she said. She said she hopes to sign the deal this week and move the store there by Sunday.
For the longer term, Meder-Wilgus said, she is working to secure a larger, more permanent store location in the downtown area — one that would include some performance space.
‘I’ve got five things up my sleeve,’ Meder-Wilgus said at the meeting, ‘all of which I’m trying to do all at once.’
The lease at the current Webster’s downtown location, 128 S. Allen St., will expire at the end of July, nixed by the landlord after an 11-year run. Meder-Wilgus has had difficulty staying up-to-date with her rent in the past couple years, during the economic downturn, she has said.
She has said that the landlord, the local Kresge family, asked Webster’s to vacate by August and declined a recent offer that would have paid off the past-due rent. The family has not talked publicly about the matter.
As noted first by the Centre Daily Times, Webster’s also has had some difficult in paying its sales-tax revenue to the state. A lien filed by the state Department of Revenue this month seeks payment of $3,891 for the month of November, according to Centre County records.
But Meder-Wilgus, speaking with StateCollege.com on Tuesday, said she already paid that debt. Government agencies just haven’t fully processed the transaction yet, so it’s not yet reflected in county records, she said.
Webster’s earlier tax debts reflected in four earlier liens — filed in June 2010 and November 2009 — have indeed been satisfied, county records show. Those debts together had amounted to more than $16,000, according to the records.
Hundreds of Webster’s customers have rallied to support the business as Meder-Wilgus, a Webster’s founder, charts its future. In the past 10-or-so days, supporters have delivered nearly $16,000 in an ongoing fundraising drive through Cogster, a local website.
Meder-Wilgus has said that money will help the enterprise to develop the new, permanent location. Her backers have also raised money through benefit events, an auction (more than $2,000) and commemorative-postcard sales (more than $4,000). In addition, more than 3,800 people have signed petitions supporting Webster’s.
Webster’s also is seeking their muscle to help with the downtown store’s move, scheduled for Sunday. If plans for the temporary Webster’s location are solidified at that point, some of the book inventory will move there; if not, all of the inventory will move to the Webster’s storage space, beneath the Chili’s restaurant on South Allen Street, Meder-Wilgus said.
Carol Gold, an active Friends of Webster’s member, said the business has seen support across all age groups.
‘I do believe, for this time of year … there has been an overwhelming response from the community,’ she said.
Earlier coverage: Webster’s To Launch Web Campaign For Capital
