Cooler but still well above normal this week

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

(AP) - The 91-year-old Shinders newsstand chain has
closed its last eight stores.

      Shinders has been slowly closing stores over the past several
months and on Monday informed its remaining employees that it could
no longer afford to pay them. 

The stores were known equally for
their selections of baseball cards, comic books and obscure
magazines.

      Company owner Robert Weisberg was arrested last year after
police found drugs, needles and a .40-caliber rifle in his van. The
45-year-old lawyer failed to show for at least two court
appearances in the past several months.

      His attorney, Joseph Friedberg, said the criminal case is
continuing and Weisberg's next court appearance is scheduled for
Aug. 27.

      Casey Carver, who worked for more than two years at the company,
wasn't too surprised after getting the news on Monday. 

"The
writing's been on the wall for a while now," he said at the
Maplewood location.

      The company operated stores in Minneapolis, Roseville,
Maplewood, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville, Blaine, Minnetonka and
Maple Grove.

      Shinders was founded by five brothers in 1916 shortly after they
immigrated from Russia. Weisberg took control of the chain in 2003.
He is a distant relative of the Shinder family.

      Joel Shinder, a former owner who grew the company from one store
to 13 when he was in charge from 1976 to 2003, said he felt
"horrible" upon learning the news.

      "If you would have asked me three months ago, I would have
thought there was a possibility that it could turn around," he
said.

      Some customers were already mourning the loss of the Hennepin
Ave. location, which was a local landmark.

      Doug Spong, managing partner of Minneapolis public-relations
firm Carmichael Lynch Spong, said he couldn't count the number of
times sent a staffer across the street to Shinders for a copy of an
article about one of his clients in some obscure publication like
Outlaw Biker or Hamptons Cottages and Gardens.

      "You can't find Outlaw Biker at Target or Borders," said
Spong, whose firm was across the street from Shinders until
Carmichael Lynch moved last year.

Gallery

Arts and Culture

Business and Economic News

The 91-year-old Shinders newsstand chain has
closed its last eight stores. The stores were known equally for their selections of baseball cards, comic books and obscure magazines.


Shinders closes remaining stores

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox