Snails move slowly, and Toronto’s legendary comic book store, Silver Snail, has been tucked into its shell at 367 Queen Street West for almost three decades. But, to quote Snail customer Bob Dylan, “the times, they are a-changin’,” and the shop has decided to make tracks elsewhere, The Star reports.
Although the move is slated for early 2012, it’s not the end of the world. The business is being taken over from original owner Ron Van Leeuwen by long-time employee and manager George Zotti and a partner, Mark Gingras. The new home, not yet chosen, will likely be in a neighbourhood like the Annex which embraces counter-culture rather than the haute couture that Queen West has become known for over the years.
“Queen Street is not the book-friendly place it used to be,” Zotti told The Star. “If you want shoes or $300 jeans, it’s a good place to go. It’s lost that browsing, literary feel it used to have.”
Zotti hopes to move into a space even bigger than the current one, possibly incorporating a café. What will be done with the building after Snail moves elsewhere? Rumour has it a large green fellow helpfully offered, “Hulk smash!”