The New Uncle Hugo's

Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore has reopened — finally. It's at 2716 East 31st Street, and there's no clear signage yet, so look for this building, which says Stained Glass on the awnings:

It's just east of Minnehaha Avenue, and a block south of Lake Street, next to where the new post office is under construction.

For those who aren't aware, Uncle Hugo's was the longest continually operating science fiction bookstore in the U.S. when it burned to the ground in late May 2020. This was on one of the nights of unrest after the murder of George Floyd, and in the midst of a lack of police and fire response in Minneapolis. (I should say: there was some police response, but generally the wrong kind, including unmarked vans full of plain-clothes cops stopping to shoot at people who were trying to protect neighborhood businesses.)

Uncle Hugo's owner Don Blyly, who shared updates on what it has taken to get back in business on Facebook, finally found a building he could buy and since has gone through all of the usual contracting travails and technical hurdles until last weekend.

The store is in the midst of a soft open, with hours 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. They're still unpacking books, though there are plenty to look at already.

The front of the store holds mystery titles (the accompanying Uncle Edgar's bookstore), which appear to take up a much smaller area than in the old store. 

After that, for some while, they will divide the science fiction and fantasy into new releases, then books that came out since the fire (but are not quite new), and then backlist books (hard covers and trade paperbacks). I may have missed it, but I don't think they have yet begun to rebuild their huge inventory of new backlist pocketbook-size paperbacks, which is one of the things the store was known for.

Another thing Uncle Hugo's was known for was its overflowing used book collection, and that is well-represented already. Many of the books came from Blyly's own home, while others have been donated by fans of the store. 

The inside of the shop looks very good, and sometime (soon?) they'll have a sign or some awnings on the outside to tell the world what's going on inside.

The store's location is just around the corner from Moon Palace Books, another independent, in one direction and the East Lake Street Library in the other, so it has become quite a book destination. 

I'm happy to have Uncle Hugo's back so I don't have to preorder new science fiction titles at normie bookstores anymore!