English-language bookstore ‘dries out’ in a new location and changes its name after disastrous El Centro fire

Aug 11, 2008 | 0 comments

It would be a stretch to say to that Carolina Bookstore is rising from the ashes of the former ABC Bookstore. It is more the case of being a victim of the ´trickle-down effect´ that forced the relocation and prompted the renaming of the store following a July 4 fire behind the cathedral. ¨We’re open for business,¨ says owner Carol Dubs, at the store’s new location on calle Miguel, half a block from calle Larga. ¨But, as you can tell, we still have plenty of work to do.¨ 

Carolina Bookstore’s new location.

Although the fire gutted most of the historic 3-story building at the corner of Sucre and Aguirre that housed ABC, the damage to the inventory came from water from the bomberos´ fire hoses. Carol says that about 4,000 books were either a total loss or would have to be consigned to the fire sale pile.  

Carol credits the quick reopening to the efforts of friends and passers-by on the night of the fire, and to the work of volunteers who helped reorganize the books at the calle Miguel location. ¨We had 30 minutes to get our stuff out of the building after the fire and we had a lot of help, even from total strangers,¨ says Carol. ¨What the community and our friends have done for us is absolutely fantastic.¨

ABC Bookstore opened in January, 2006, at the Padre Aguirre location when Carol and husband Lee Dubs joined forces with Cuencana partner Elena Moreño. Prior to moving to Cuenca in 2004, Lee was a college Spanish professor and Carol was a college administrator in the U.S. 

Why Carolina Books? ¨Hey, we’re from North Carolina and Carolina sounds a lot better than Tar Heel,¨ Carol says.

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