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Firestorm Books & Coffee

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Coordinates: 35°34′54.9″N 82°36′5.98″W / 35.581917°N 82.6016611°W / 35.581917; -82.6016611
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Firestorm Books
EstablishedMay 2008; 16 years ago (2008-05)
Headquarters1022 Haywood Rd
Location
  • Asheville, North Carolina

Firestorm Books is a worker-owned and self-managed "anti-capitalist business"[1] in Asheville, North Carolina. Named after the firestorm, this infoshop operates with an eye on creating a sustainable, radical community event space.[2][3] Firestorm features regular events, such as film screenings, political and economic teach-ins, local and traveling musicians and community workshops.

Firestorm opened in May 2008 and is run by an LGBTQ collective.[4][5]

History

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In May 2010, Firestorm was named the "#2 Best Slow Money Business in America" by the Slow Money Alliance.[6] In December 2011, Firestorm was featured in a list of the "10 Coolest Independent Coffee Shops Across the US" surveyed by Zagat, a U.S. publisher of popular restaurant guides.[7]

In January 2014,[8] the Firestorm Collective announced that they would be closing the downtown space and looking for a new location in West Asheville. Firestorm was closed from March 2014 to July 2015. In July 2015, the collective officially opened the new space on Haywood Road in West Asheville, under the name Firestorm Books & Coffee. The name change reflected the expanded focus on operating as a bookstore.

In August 2018, Firestorm was cited by the City of Asheville for hosting a regular needle exchange event that included the distribution of clean syringes and naloxone. The city alleged that they were operating in violation of zoning code.[9] The violations were later dropped without disruption to the activities originally cited on conditions that the site maintained a medical personnel on site.[9][10]

Firestorm purchased a former car repair shop nearby their current location in 2022 and renovating it to become their new storefront.[11] The store donated the land to the Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust.[11]

In December 2023, Firestorm revealed that they had acquired more than 22,000 books removed from Duval County Public Schools in Florida and intended to send them back to children in Florida for free.[12][13] How the store obtained the books, which had been the subject of national media attention, is unclear.[14]

Firestorm has hosted many notable speakers, including economist Thomas Greco,[15] gay activist Wayne Besen,[16] the Beehive Collective, environmental scholar Kirkpatrick Sale,[17] activist educator Bill Ayers,[18] and feminist organizer Jenny Brown.[19]

Structure

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Firestorm is owned and operated by the Firestorm Collective, a cooperative body that uses formal consensus decision-making and job complexes to equitably distribute labor and responsibility.[20] In keeping with its identity as an anti-capitalist business, Firestorm is committed to operation without profit, returning 100% of would-be profits to the community.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kate (November 10, 2008). "Store Profile: Firestorm Cafe". AKPress.org. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  2. ^ Kate
  3. ^ "A Project History". firestoorm.coop.
  4. ^ Ella Gilbert (June 29, 2021). "Practice Pride: Shop at these Queer Owned Bookstores". The Collective Book Studio. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Michelle Hart (June 21, 2021). "56 LGBTQ-Owned Bookstores You Can Be Proud to Support". Oprah Daily. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Our Favorite Slow Money Business". Archived from the original on May 18, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  7. ^ Zagat (December 27, 2011). "The 10 Coolest Independent Coffee Shops Across The U.S." huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  8. ^ "Off the Map: Closing 48 Commerce Street". Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Bush, Matt (March 2, 2018). "City Drops Violations Against West Asheville Bookstore, Needle Exchange Program". Blueridge Public Radio. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  10. ^ Castillo, Tessie (April 29, 2018). "Harm Reduction vs. Gentrification in Asheville, North Carolina". Thefix.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Honosky, Sarah. "What is West Asheville's queer, anarchist, feminist bookstore Firestorm Books up to?". The Asheville Citizen Times. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  12. ^ Charles, Ron. "Book Club Newsletter". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  13. ^ Upadhyaya, Kayla. "This Bookstore Is Giving Banned Books Back to the Florida Community They Were Removed From". Autostraddle. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Scanlan, Dan. "Bookseller says it's giving away books removed from Duval schools". Jacksonville Today. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  15. ^ David Forbes (September 23, 2009). "Asheville Currency project seeks alternative money". mountainx.com. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  16. ^ "Local gay advocates slam Exodus conference message | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times". citizen-times.com. July 16, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  17. ^ Maryellen Lo Bosco (April 7, 2010). "Kirkpatrick Sale on the secession of "Katuah"". mountainx.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  18. ^ Thomas Calder (March 28, 2017). "Bill Ayers at Rainbow Community School Wednesday, April 5". mountainx.com. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  19. ^ "Feminist author Jenny Brown speaks at Firestorm Books & Coffee, May 7". mountainx.com. April 30, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  20. ^ Millard, Hal L (May 21, 2008). "Room with a viewpoint". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  21. ^ Members of Firestorm Cafe & Books (May 12, 2010). "Sound-bite vandalism". mountainx.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
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35°34′54.9″N 82°36′5.98″W / 35.581917°N 82.6016611°W / 35.581917; -82.6016611

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