Why you shouldn’t visit Syracuse bookstore, Syracuse bookstore’s owners say

Posted January 16, 2018 07:01:57 As the dust settles on the Syracuse Bookstore’s closure, its owners say it’s the right decision.

Syracuse booksellers, owners and staff gathered to pay their respects on Monday morning at the home of owner-operator, Paul Smith, at 585 N. Broad St. Smith and his wife, Carol, were both listed as people of interest in the investigation into the bookstore’s closure.

Smith, a retired University of Syracuse professor, was not at the vigil, and the police investigation has been closed.

Smith said he was unaware of the investigation and would be “surprised” if anyone had been arrested.

“I don’t think anyone would want to be arrested,” Smith said, adding that the family has been doing a “fairly good job” of keeping the peace.

The store’s owners, who were in town to speak to the press, declined to discuss the case publicly.

They did, however, speak with a local TV station.

They declined to answer questions about whether or not they knew about the investigation before the store closed, saying that would be a breach of privacy.

Last summer, a judge ruled that the store could reopen as a family business under a law that allows businesses to keep open without having to register as a business or pay fines.

The store’s owner, Carol Smith, said she and her husband were in “a constant state of panic.”

“It’s a real loss for me, and I’m really sad about it,” Carol Smith said.

This is the second Syracuse Bookshop to close.

In 2015, the bookstore sold for $1.5 million to an online retailer.

On Tuesday, the owners said the closure had nothing to do with a lawsuit filed by former employees against the bookstore.

Earlier this year, a woman sued the bookstore, alleging it violated her civil rights, including being a place where sex offenders could congregate.

In the lawsuit, the woman claimed she was forced to sign an affidavit saying she was not sexually harassed or subjected to unwelcome sexual advances, but instead “was forced to perform sexually explicit acts against her will.”