As the influx of police, National Guard troops, and federal law enforcement agents that President Donald Trump ordered into Washington, D.C., on August 11 continues to disrupt the city’s economy, indie bookstores in the area have been impacted to varying degrees by the continuing military presence.

While Politics & Prose has reported no discernible impact at any of its three locations, sales at Kramers in DuPont Circle have dropped 17% since the federal takeover of policing. Traffic inside Kramers remains about the same, said bookstore manager Andrew Jones, even though the National Guard presence in the neighborhood looks to him like it has increased this past week. Other booksellers PW talked with are feeling even more pain.

“It’s affecting everyone’s bottom line,” says Shady Rose, general manager of Loyalty Bookstores, which has a storefront in D.C.'s Petworth neighborhood. “We’re only beginning to feel the effects, and we’re going to be dealing with them for a while.”

No bookstore that PW has reached out to has been as adversely impacted as Loyalty, which specializes in diverse and intersectional literature. Owner Hannah Oliver Depp says that revenues at Petworth were already down this spring and summer due to many customers or their family members who were employed by the federal government being laid off or taking early retirement. Sales are down 65% since August 11.

“The neighborhood has been starkly empty, even on weekends,” Rose reported, noting that not only is Loyalty experiencing its “worst financial weeks ever,” but that the safety of its staff and customers is also of concern. Rose said that National Guard and federal agents have even ventured into the store several times "to look around and intimidate people. Fortunately, we were able to turn them away, but it’s scary stuff.”

Depp said that Loyalty has updated its emergency procedures, and management is “constantly checking in with staff to make sure they are where they need to be.” The store is also partnering with other small businesses nearby that have solo closers or that close after dark to make sure nobody is walking alone or waiting for a bus by themselves. Taking such a step, Depp said, “did not feel necessary in our community until the federalization of our police force and the National Guard invasion.”

Of the three D.C. locations of the restaurant-bookstore mini-chain, Busboys and Poets, the one on 14th and V Streets has been most impacted by the police and military presence, as there's a checkpoint a block away. Owner Andy Shallal told PW that he hasn’t seen patrols in Penn Quarter and Anacostia, where the other two B&Ps are located. “If they're really concerned about crime, Anacostia, in Southeast D.C., has the most crime,” he said. “Why aren't they there?”

“We’ve seen from our windows [agents] apprehending, kidnapping people at 14th and W,” Shallal said, noting that sales at all three District locations have dipped about 5% since August 11, although he reported that he hasn’t observed less foot traffic and in-store events continue to draw audiences. “Ironically,” he added, sales are slightly up in the mini-chain’s five suburban locations, with suburbanites “trying to avoid the city now.”

Shallal said that B&P staff have been trained on emergency procedures and that “we've really tried to keep in touch with our staff, and keep talking to them, and make sure that we know if they’re experiencing any hardships or anxiety.” B&P also has placed cards at the host stand in each location, instructing customers on “what to say, what to do” if they are stopped. “We were hit by ICE a few years ago,” Shallal said, “so we're familiar with the process.”

In contrast, given that Solid State Books’ two locations also are in areas being patrolled by National Guard, as well as monitored by federal agents, sales are up this past month, which traditionally is one of its slowest months: the H Street store is up 4% and the 14th at S Street store is up 10%.

“We are often seen as a refuge of sorts from the chaos of the outside world,” co-owner Jake Cumsky-Whitlock said, “so some of that feeling has likely affected sales this past month for the better.” Cumsky-Whitlock reported that store traffic “has not substantially” been affected by the presence of small groups of National Guard soldiers, who “walk the sidewalks like tourists, or stand on the corner doing nothing for long periods of time, no doubt wondering why they all are here.”

Cumsky-Whitlock said that Solid State will continue “continue to try to provide the same things we have always strived to provide for both staff and customers: a safe space with good vibes, where all are welcome.”

Silence and the city

Lost City Bookshop in Adams Morgan held a huge sale the weekend of August 15-17 and then shut down for the rest of the month, which it does every August; it re-opened last Friday. “Overall,” said owner Adam Waterreus before the Labor Day weekend, sales are “a bit down from last year, but nothing to be alarmed about.” What has changed, he noted, is “the tone: our last couple of weeks have been different. The energy on the street, the amount of people out and about—all feel different.” The staff, customers, and neighborhood businesses are all, Waterreus said, “more than a little shaken as this deployment of soldiers and DHS agents—who are often masked and in unmarked cars—continues.”

Marianne Wald, general manager of East City Bookshop, said that she and her colleagues “are not seeing a lot of people out and about, as there has been a police presence at the Eastern Market metro station half a block from the shop. I expect this is something that will continue to impact our customers, our neighbors, and our business.”

East City store buyer Emilie Sommer added that sales are down 35% since August 11. “There's no doubt that a good portion of that considerable decrease is due to what's happening here,” Sommer said. “D.C. is definitely emptier than usual—not because the military occupation is making things safer, but because people do not want to interact with the National Guard. They are scared and staying away.” At the same time, she added, customers who have been coming in have expressed their appreciation that the store remains open. "We need community—and community spaces—more than ever," Sommer said.

Little District Books owner Patrick Kern says that foot traffic at his Barracks Row store, which serves the LGBTQ+ community, was already down this year due to Trump administration policies, but it has dipped further this past month. “Traffic continues to decline week over week," Kern said. “People don't come in from the suburbs and tourism is down as well. We haven't made a lot of changes to how we are operating at the moment, but we’re flexible and ready to pivot depending on how things go.”

Beyond the District

Although bookstores outside D.C.—including One More Page in Artlington, Va., and the Busboy and Poets’ suburban locations—are reporting that sales are up slightly, others, like Wonderland Books in Bethesda, Md., say that it’s business as usual. But Ally Kirkpatrick, owner of Old Town Books in Alexandria, Va., says that she is “freaked out” about the impact if tourists stay away from D.C., as her store relies on visitors to the area. “On the other hand,” she added, “I have heard that when people have to travel to D.C. these days, they’re actually wanting to stay in Alexandria instead of in the District because of everything that is going on.”

But the military presence, she noted, is having an intangible impact that could be just as devastating to her business in the long-term. “It has really impacted morale,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s hard to feel chipper about bookselling when it feels like the world is burning. But I try to remind our team that what we do is more than retail; bookstores are a safe space, a place for people to come get a reprieve when they need it.”