Powell’s Has Permanently Closed Its Airport Store and Kiosk

It’s further evidence of the iconic Portland bookstore and tourist attraction's struggle to stay afloat during the pandemic.

By Shannon Gormley
Portland International Airport on March 8, 2020. (Justin Katigbak)

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Powell's has permanently closed one of its locations.

The bookstore's airport kiosk and store will shut down effective immediately, the company announced today.

“Closing the airport store is a sad necessity as we face the months ahead,” CEO Emily Powell said in a statement. “We hope to return one day.”

Opened in 1988, the airport store is the smallest of the company's five outposts. But it's further evidence of the iconic Portland bookstore and tourist attraction's struggle to stay afloat during the pandemic.

In March, the company laid off "the vast majority" of its employees, only a few days after it indefinitely closed all five of its locations and moved all sales online.

In an open letter earlier this month, Emily Powell wrote that the company does not plan to reopen its physical stores anytime soon.

Related: Powell's Will Lay Off the "Vast Majority" of Its Employees and Extend the Length of Its Closures Due to Coronavirus.

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Shannon Gormley

Shannon Gormley

Shannon Gormley is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She covers local and non-local music in Portland, and writes for Baltimore City Paper whenever she's visiting her hometown.

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