Hole in the Wall Books, the cozy used book shop located within a faded blue house on Broad Street, will be closing up shop for good at the end of the month, concluding a 40-year run in the City of Falls Church that brought the right amount of reliability and eccentricity to make the store into an institution.
“The decision to close is a personal one,” says Edie Nally, who along with her husband and owner, Michael, have been digging a hole in the wall since 1979.
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edie and michael haven’t been able to travel together to see their children since the youngest graduated from high school in the mid-2000s. a rare chance to see their son, who lives in raleigh, in september The past reminded the couple of how much time had passed, and with Edie in the mid-60s and Michael in the early 70s, they felt it was time to retire. A 150-mile round trip to and from the family’s home near Luray made the decision even easier.
“The last time I saw my granddaughter was when she was 18 months old; She just turned four years old,” Ella Edie said, adding that children visit them as often as they can in West Virginia. “There always has to be someone around to take care of the store, so we look forward to seeing you together.”
what will go with the nallys may be the closest thing to a stereotypical family store in falls church.
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Sturdy wooden shelves have book sections delineated by hand-written paper slivers. The subtle creak of the floorboards is covered up by the hum of fans and window air-conditioning units. A cracker-barrel aesthetic on the inside is the canvas for an assortment of tchotchkes, including a Pink Panther stuffed animal staring, superhero insignias and a picture of fictional character, Elric of Melniboné, to name just a few. And a small pillar of mementos from patrons’ vacations to annual Christmas cards indicate the relationships Edie, ever the social butterfly, fosters when guests come to the register.
all of these elements give the hole in the wall a vintage feel similar to its opening in the spring of 1979, which seemed to be the culmination of michael’s lifelong passion.
edie says the first book michael read was sir arthur conan doyle’s “sherlock holmes” when he was four years old. he would continue to work in bookstores when he was in his late teens and early 20s before leasing half of record & Swap tape space to open a hole in the wall at your current location. when the record store owner decided to leave, the hole in the wall would take root in the falls church for the next 40 years.
Although the Nallys had to move west for quality of life reasons, they remained loyal to Falls Church. Used books have always been a mainstay on the wall along with comics, which Edie estimated accounted for nearly half of her business after they were added to the store’s repertoire in 1981.
Long-time friend, author, and former store contractor Ted White helps the Nallys increase their comic book inventory. White, who also serves as a style editor for the news press, sold a large collection of his used comics to Michael, including prizes like Spider-Man’s debut in 1962’s Marvel’s “Amazing Fantasy” #15. /p>
As the hole in the wall grew, so did comic book distribution, which is where Michael turned to White for help. White Served Comic Book Shelves That Hole In The Wall Was A Salesman For, Touring Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and maryland to restock empty shelves or recycle old editions for new ones. The gig lasted from 1986 to 1994, or around the time that Edie took over as the face of the store, while, as White comments, an increasingly reclusive Michael was able to devote his time to his genuine interest in book hunting. . Michael built a shed next to his country home to house the treasures of his expeditions, with some traveling as far north as New England.
To White, the store appeared well-liked by regular citizens but somewhat ignored by the powers-that-be.
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“the city did not give him any recognition and he did not receive any promotion from the chamber of commerce. It’s like that family member you don’t talk about,” White said. “However, the store had a significant customer base: kids hung out there and talked. a good number of people had a relationship with the store and will miss it when it closes.”
the feeling is mutual. edie says the hardest part of closing is letting go of the bonds he created with clients.
Whether it’s listening to someone talk about the starry night sky in Montana or chatting proudly about how one of her holiday card sponsors recently appeared in front of the supreme court, she believes the interactions she frequently receives only come from ” in the seat of the empire of the world.”
“I’m going to miss the people more,” Edie said, noting that the intersection of a cosmopolitan essence balanced by small-town demeanor is what kept Falls Church a hole in the wall. “The most educated, nicest and coolest people on the planet live here.”
hole in the wall books will officially close on Saturday August 8th. 31. Excess inventory that is not donated can be found at abebooks.com.
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