June 20, 2025
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Iffy Books in Center City was potentially going to have to close before the community rallied behind the shop's owner and made donatations to keep its doors open.
After financial strife threatened to shut down Iffy Books, the community rallied and an influx of donations have prevented the small Center City bookstore from having to close — for now.
Owner Steve McLaughlin posted an open letter on Wednesday revealing the business's long-standing struggles, which recently reached a head. As of Friday, though, enough money was raised for the shop to keep its doors open.
Located at 404 S. 20th St., Iffy Books is a self-proclaimed radical bookstore carries literature on gardening, hacking, coding and cultural issues. The space is also a gathering place where book clubs, game nights and other community events are held.
McLaughlin, who opened the shop in 2021, said in the letter that financially, "the ice has been thin for a long time, and for me it's finally broken through." The bookstore has been breaking even from its sales, but nobody is getting paid, he said.
"I've been living on former retirement money for the past year and a half, and I'm pretty much completely out of resources," McLaughlin said. "I don't know if I'll have enough to cover rent for July at the apartment I share with my six-year-old. It's painful to say it, but that's where I'm at."
McLaughlin said over 200 people opted-in to provide recurring payments via Patreon and that the shop now had a financial cushion from Venmo donations, which will allow the owner to cover his rent and expenses.
It's unclear if McLaughlin will be able to provide hourly wages to himself or other staffers, but that doesn't seem to be his top priority.
"My goal when I started this was just to make as much money as I did as a grad student," McLaughlin said. "I'm now tentatively confident we can stay where we are."
Although the immediate danger of closing is gone, the space's lease is up in November, and McLaughlin has until August to decide whether to renew. McLaughlin previously stated that if it's not possible to raise enough money, his next options are to take a part-time job and limit the store's hours or close the shop altogether.
However, it seems that the community's rally around Iffy Books has so far saved it from this fate, prompting the owner to go back on Instagram to extend his gratitude.
"Breathing a new sigh of relief and feeling newly determined," the post read.
