Fulton Street Books & Coffee, one of the few remaining independent bookstores in Tulsa, announced in mid-September that it would be shutting down after five years of operation in Tulsa’s Greenwood District.
“When we’re looking at the numbers, it’s just not a sustainable model for us,” said Onikah Asamoa-Caesar, founder and owner of the bookshop, in an interview with KWGS.
Fulton Street opened in 2020, a peculiar time given the economic struggles of small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and the wave of social justice movements like Black Lives Matter.
“People were curious about the history of this country and the things that led us to that moment in time,” Asamoa-Caesar said, referencing the killings of George Floyd and Breyonna Taylor by police.
That curiosity pushed more people toward Black-owned businesses, like Fulton Street, which focused on literature written by women and people of color.
Asamoa-Caesar is convinced the momentum fueled by that curiosity has slowed.
“Our operating question was, ‘is this a movement or is this a moment?’ And I think time has proved that that was just a moment,” she said.
State law has altered that social climate as well.
Oklahoma House Bill 1775 was passed in 2021, prohibiting public schools from teaching certain topics about race or gender, typically referred to as critical race theory. The law has been criticized for whitewashing the teaching of difficult periods of history.
Asamoa-Caesar said there’s been a chilling effect both in public institutions and their suppliers.
“When institutions are not able to purchase certain titles or contain certain content, and those institutions were sourcing those books from independent bookstores like Fulton Street, we see our bottom line take a huge hit,” she said.
Since the launch of online giants like Amazon.com in 1995, independent bookstores have seen waves of declines and resurgences.
Most recently, a 2024 report by the American Booksellers Association showed a 31% increase in brick-and-mortar bookstore openings across the country. Independent bookstores, i.e. those not tied to a national chain, have seen a rise in popularity.
However, that trend has not extended to Tulsa, with fewer bookstores staying open in the city after years of shuttering. With the closing of Fulton Street, no Black-owned brick-and-mortar bookstores will remain in Tulsa.
“Bookstores always have this push-and-pull of ‘everyone’s supporting indie bookstores,’ and then there’s a decline, and then once people realize bookstores are closing, they’re like ‘no, we have to support independent bookstores,’” Asamoa-Caesar said.
Despite Fulton Street’s shuttering in Tulsa, Asamoa-Caesar is optimistic about the future.
Asamoa-Caesar named her store after the street her grandmother’s house was located on in New Jersey. She plans to relocate and reopen the store in the Garden State. She said an expansion to New Jersey had been in conversation before the decision was made to close the Tulsa location altogether.
Fulton Street also has a kiosk located in Terminal B of the Tulsa International Airport. When asked whether the kiosk would shut down as well, Asamoa-Caesar responded: “TBD.”
“I’m excited about the opportunities that are ahead,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a goodbye forever.”
Editing by Traci Tong.
