Back in 2005, when my parents were deciding where to buy a home and raise a family, they looked at many suburbs before finding Oak Park. My dad drove around Naperville, Joliet and Downers Grove among others, but Oak Park was the first one he took my mom to see.

He had felt like the other towns he’d seen were too cookie-cutter and lacked a sense of community. The immediate difference he noticed in Oak Park was the number of bookstores. What more could indicate a great place to live?

In 2005, Oak Park had five book stores within walking distance of where they moved: Logos, which closed in 2006; Barbara’s Bookstore, which closed in 2010; Borders, which closed in 2011; Magic Tree Bookstore, which closed in 2018; and The Book Table, which is set to close around Thanksgiving, employees said.

Owners Rachel Weaver and Jason Smith opened The Book Table in 2003. “We met working in bookstores,” said Weaver. “We both worked at a number of them, and we loved doing it, so we wanted to make one of our own.”

As surrounding bookstores closed, The Book Table expanded to fit the needs of the community. “When Borders went bankrupt in particular, that caused us to have to grow up really fast and change as a bookstore,” said Weaver.

By the time the pandemic hit, The Book Table was Oak Park’s main bookstore. “We were being crushed by web orders that we were trying to fill, which take like 10 times longer than in person transactions,” said Weaver.

Additionally, Smith and Weaver were feeling the pressure of keeping their employees safe. “We never really chose this world where we needed to worry if every decision that we made was going to, in fact, kill our employees,” said Smith. “I think we just never quite recovered from that mentally,” said Weaver.

“It put us in a funk that we kept thinking we would get out of,” said Smith. “The way this store functions involves an incredible amount of passion and energy and focus, and that’s been the problem is that Rachel and I have not been able to do what we need to do in order to make sure that this is the best store that it could possibly be.” With that realization, the couple decided to move on.

The Book Table has always been a representation of Weaver’s and Smith’s values. They chose to move to Oak Park and open The Book Table because they felt the community reflected their beliefs and would support a store that promoted those values. “I can’t imagine creating something that is yours, that isn’t going to reflect all parts of you,” said Smith. “The very act of us opening was a political statement.”

After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016, Weaver wanted to hang a pride flag in the window. “I went all over Oak Park and found out you couldn’t buy a pride flag in Oak Park. So I hunted down where I could buy pride flags, and I started selling them in the store,” said Weaver.

“I think the biggest difference between us and all the rest is that we actually live here,” said Smith. “We’re actually buying for Oak Parkers.”

With the community of Oak Park in mind, Weaver and Smith have never been afraid to alienate a few customers based on their beliefs. “If you look at the string of our one-star reviews over the years, almost all of them are political in nature,” said Smith. “Almost all of them are, ‘I think you should carry more Trump books,’ or, ‘This is some super woke store,’ and it is; we’re proud to be that.”

Many Oak Parkers, though, value the diversity of The Book Table in terms of both books available and views and values represented.

Nora Butterly, a senior at Oak Park and River Forest High School, said she “always felt welcome at The Book Table. It felt like no matter who you were outside of the store, everyone was just a reader walking in.”

“The Book Table also represented our inclusivity as a town, something I think the community of Oak Park feels is important to demonstrate,” said Butterly.

Although their time is coming to an end, Weaver and Smith have loved being booksellers and a staple of Oak Park. “The really cool thing is being able to put the book in someone’s hand that they didn’t even know they wanted,” said Smith. “That’s the joy of being a bookseller, is that there’s every topic in the world sitting in here.”

Lynda Fitzgerald, a staff member at The Book Table since 2019, worked at numerous bookstores before The Book Table. “Many of them (are) wonderful, but The Book Table has been the best,” said Fitzgerald.

“If the parks, the architecture, the libraries and the schools are the face of Oak Park, I think The Book Table is a portrait of the village,” said Fitzgerald. “Trying to be inclusive, trying to do the right thing, trying to be thoughtful, but still have some fun.”

While The Book Table closing may raise the question for some of whether or not independent bookstores are fading out and being replaced by larger chains or Amazon, Weaver and Smith are adamant that independent bookstores remain essential and relevant. In fact, they are also both confident that it won’t be long until a new bookstore opens in Oak Park.

“We’re reading, we’re recommending, we’re launching books in a way that Amazon never will be able to do, and that’s the power of independent bookstores,” said Smith.

Weaver also emphasized the importance of independent bookstores in terms of publishing. “If you didn’t have independent bookstores, you’d have Amazon and Barnes & Noble determining what gets published, not just what’s selling, but what actually gets published,” said Weaver. “It’s crucial that you have independent readers thinking independently and buying books independently.”

As someone who is frequently the one making recommendations to customers, Fitzgerald particularly understands that “there is a conversation that takes place between the desires of the customers and the knowledge of the staff that cannot be replicated by the most careful tuned algorithm,” she said.

Since announcing their closing, Weaver, Smith and the staff have been flooded with love and well-wishes for the future. “It’s been amazing. So many calls, emails, visits,” said Fitzgerald. “Practically every interaction since the announcement went out has been as much about how much the store will be missed as it is about buying books.”

“It’s been amazing and overwhelming. Time and time again, over the last 21 years, the community has come out with love and support that has just been amazing, and this time was exactly the same,” said Smith.

The Book Table will certainly be missed. “The Book Table was a part of my childhood,” said Butterly. “I remember going there with my mom, sitting on one of the black stools in the back and flipping through a picture book.”

I’ve discovered some of my favorite books and done some of my best Christmas shopping at The Book Table. It will leave a large hole after its last day.

What’s next for Weaver and Smith has yet to be decided. “All we know is that we need to do whatever we can to focus on the store, as we have for the last 21 years. And so that’s what we’re doing,” said Smith. “Come that day after, once we lock up the doors for the last time, we can then think about the future.”