There isn’t a silver lining to this story. Paperback Exchange Bookstore, run by a family for 30 years, had its most valuable, hard-to-find books destroyed in a water main break along 50th Street on Feb. 13. They stored the books in the basement for safe keeping. As the water gushed in from the back wall of the basement, the water filled up to the first floor, washing away books packed in the quirky space.

“Most of the inventory at the bookstore was destroyed,” Andy Hersey, owner of Paperback Exchange Books said in an interview with Southwest Voices. “The books that were saved, we hope to do something with them at some point.”

The 100-year-old building will not be usable for quite some time and remodeling will have to be done to bring it up to code.

The original owners of Paperback Exchange Bookstore, Marion and Keith Hersey, live on Oliver Avenue. Their basement was also flooded from the water main break and their vehicle was damaged from the flooding.

Insurance companies are telling the family that damages at the business and house will not be covered and any restitution will have to come from the City of Minneapolis, according to Andy Hersey, son of Marion and Keith.

Andy Hersey said no one from the City has reached out to his parents on helping them financially.

“They just said, ‘here’s a form to fill out,’” Hersey said. Mayor Jacob Frey left Keith a message apologizing for what had happened.

A Meal Train has been established to assist Marion and Keith and a Go Fund Me is set up to help out the five employees with immediate expenses and possibly reviving the bookstore.

Paperback Exchange Bookstore is located at 2227 W 50th St. and is temporarily closed. Our 2024 profile on the bookstore can be found here.