opinion

Firestorm reopening bookstore, event space in West Asheville

Firestorm launched a crowdfunding campaign Jan. 1 to reopen in West Asheville.

Firestorm closed its downtown location in March after six years, and is seeking $13,000 from the community to "expand our inventory, add new equipment, prepare the storefront and hire additional collective members," according to the Indiegogo website.

The cooperative signed a lease at the end of 2014 for 610 Haywood Road.

"This 2,500-square-foot location will more than double our retail floorspace without compromising our ability to run a great vegan coffee shop and host free community meetings, film screenings, workshops and forums," the website said.

"With expanded floorspace comes the ability to put our selection on par with that of other first class indie bookstores," the post continues. "We'll be adding over 1,500 new titles, expanding our existing sections and creating new ones that our old store lacked. Our inventory will still have the offbeat flavor you love, there's just going to be a whole lot more of it!"

The new Firestorm plans also include a 300-square-foot community room and a 240-square-foot shared office. "The latter will serve as a new home base for our friends at the Center for Participatory Change (cpcwnc.org), a 14-year-old nonprofit that builds collective power to create equity in WNC," the post says.

The larger space, the post says, will better support the group's vision "of a sustainable, community bookstore and event space."

The former downtown space for the worker-owned and operated business on Commerce Street hosted more than 1,400 community events.

The group secured the majority of the $53,000 budget from lenders, including the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund (ncdf.coop).

The community-raised funds will also go toward putting "up a fresh coat of paint, hang an eye catching storefront sign and commission a mural facing the intersection of Haywood Road and State Street," the post says. "We'll be posting more about each of these expenses over the next 60 days."

As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, $1,700 of the goal has been raised. For more, visit the website.