University Stationery will close its doors Friday May 1, bringing to an end its 97-year run in Cambridge.
Finding a new owner or closing the store had been a topic of discussion since its owner and the daughter of its founders, Gail Seidman, was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, according to Betsy Spitzer, Seidman’s friend. Seidman died in January. Spitzer has worked at the store for nearly 25 years and is now winding down its operations.
Michael Monestime, president of the Central Square Business Improvement District, said it was a loss. “This is more than a closing, it’s the loss of a piece of what makes Central Square, Central Square: quirky and independent. Change is inevitable, but it’s not easy,” Monestime said via email.
He noted that “University Stationery has been part of Central Square for generations. Gail cared deeply for this community and was a longtime member of the Central Square Business Association, someone who showed up and helped hold the district together.”
He noted that “for many of us, the shop was personal, it’s where the late Peter Valentine picked up his blue Bic pens and paper for his cosmic correspondences.”
Spitzer said there had been a couple of potential buyers, but neither deal worked out. Spitzer, 83, spoke with Cambridge Day on Tuesday while working on items related to closing the store. “It’s not easy, winding down a business,” she said. She recently learned that state and federal tax accounts need to be shut down, adding another item to be take care of.
The store still has some inventory and Spitzer said they are still selling items from the stock, but ultimately “a lot of it’s going to end up in the Dumpster,” Spitzer said.
After the store closes to customers, the stores shelving, attached ladders and other physical infrastructure also have to be sold or thrown out, so the space is empty. “Everything has to go,” she said.
The store’s signature giant pencil will stay in Seidman’s family, Spitzer said. Seidman’s nephew, Brian Seidman, will have to dismount it and find a place for it.
The giant slide rule that hung in the store was purchased by a Cambridge non-profit, the Temporary Institute for Unification of Knowledge.
“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, a lot overwhelmed really,” Spitzer said. But she’s shouldering the burden because with Seidman’s nephew living in Oregon, she has to step up for her friend.
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