S.W. Welch Bookstore to close after nearly 40 years in Mile End

Opened in 1984, S.W. Welch Bookstore in Montreal’s Mile End is the only used bookstore in the neighbourhood. And now, it’s getting ready to turn the page – closing a chapter in the area’s history for good at the end of July.

“It’s been a good almost 40 years,” said Stephen Welch, owner of S.W. Welch Bookstore. “People come in, especially if they’re selling me books. I buy their books or not, and I chat them up.”

Welch also visits people’s homes to buy their books. He refers to the book selection process as a pig in a poke, an expression used when one buys something without prior inspection.

For him, the fun part is researching the book and learning about how they are made.

“That’s how a bookseller learns. It’s buying something perhaps they know nothing about and then researching it to find out what it is,” Welch said.

Welch’s love for reading and bargains led him to open shop, selling vintage comics and antiquarian books that can go to as little as a dollar up to $400.

The name S.W. Welch pays homage to his grandfather’s sardines business in the Maritimes, H. Welch Sardines.

Welch’s favourite find was a pile of Charles Dickens’ first edition books he found in Saint-Sauveur.

“That’s the thing with being a bookseller. You can’t keep your books. You have to be able to sell books. It’s mainly reading material. I don’t snap off all the interesting books and keep them,” he said.

However, customers won’t have any luck finding Harlequin romance novels, old records and DVDs in his bookstore. The owner is not a fan of romance novels and was adamant that his shop sold books, “and only books.”

But for every location he’s operated in, Welch tries to learn the kind of books locals in the area like. For Mile End, Welch says they tend to like philosophy, cutting-edge books or graphic novels.

“I’ve been buying books from him for 35 years,” said Glen LeMesurier. “I’m at 2,000 books right now and he’s just made my life a lot heavier because there’s no where to put them. And I can only take so much information.”

Due to health problems, Welch decided its time to close up shop after almost four decades.

“I would like to thank Mile End and all my customers for the many years of coming to the store. You’re all great guys and gals.”