Despite what folks at the city told us Monday, one of Acres of Books’ owners said this afternoon that they do want to keep the store open after its pending $2.8 million sale to the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

In fact, with some luck–and another building–one of Long Beach’s oldest businesses could remain here for years to come.

“We’re not totally going out of business,” said Jackie Smith, granddaughter-in-law to the bookstore’s founder, Cincinnatian Bertrand Smith. “We’re desperately looking for a place. If we can find another place, we’re going to do it.”

That’s interesting. Craig Beck, the director of the city’s Department of Development Services, told me yesterday that the store owners–Smith and her husband Phil, Bertrand Smith’s grandson–weren’t interested in staying.

But Jackie Smith says they are–so maybe we’ll see a century of Acres of Books, instead of just a great 75 years.

Too bad the city knocked down the Streamline Moderne K-FOX building on Anaheim Street and Long Beach Boulevard. That place would have been perfect for Acres of Books. (Or, at least, I liked it.)

Tags: acres of books, Anaheim Street, California, Craig Beck, K-FOX, Long Beach, Long Beach Boulevard, Long Beach historic landmark, Redevelopment Agency, Southern California, Streamline Modern, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas