McNally Jackson may stay put in Nolita after all

Last fall, bibliophiles around the city let out a collective groan upon learning that one of the city’s beloved indie bookstores, McNally Jackson, would vacate its longtime Nolita home, moving to a new location nearby.

But now, it appears that the rumors of its Prince Street location’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated: Bowery Boogie reports that McNally is staying in the space at 50 Prince Street, which it has called home for the past 14 years. A listing for the storefront is still available via Winick Realty, which was said to be marketing the space at a significant markup from what its current occupants were paying.

The store was founded by Sarah McNally, whose parents used to own the Canadian bookstore chain McNally Robinson. Initially it operated as a branch of that chain, but a few years in, McNally, along with her husband Christopher Jackson, decided to go independent. They recently opened an outpost in Williamsburg, and one is planned for a new LaGuardia Airport terminal sometime this year.

When the news of the bookstore’s move broke last fall, McNally took a bullish attitude toward the move. “What about McNally Jackson is irreducible? It’s certainly not the current space, which is in a shoddy building that was thrown up over a former chicken abattoir,” she said in a statement. “The soul of McNally Jackson is the books and the booksellers. We have remained devoted to an old fashioned idea of bookselling, in which bookstores are edifying spaces.”

We’ve reached out to McNally and Winick, and will update as information becomes available.

• McNally Jackson Books will Remain at its Longtime Prince Street Shop [Bowery Boogie]