Print periodical shop Issues relocating to Longfellow from Piedmont

Photo: Cirrus Wood/Hoodline

Newspaper and magazine store Issues is downsizing from its current location at 20 Glen Avenue, off of Piedmont Avenue, to a retrofitted shipping container across from the MacArthur BART Station. Co-owners Noella Teele and Joe Colley felt that it was time for a move.

“It’s a combination of things,” Colley told Hoodline about the decision. “We want to make the choice while we can before something forces us."

The co-owners have a positive relationship with their current landlord, he emphasized. Instead, the choice to move has been for personal reasons related to the costs of running a print business. The new location is around one-third the rent of their current space, and near a higher traffic area. Additionally, changes in the magazine business have made it harder to get some titles from wholesale distributors, and despite being at their present address for 11 years, Issues has not officially been on a lease since 2012.

The new space, located at 644 40th St., Unit #102, will offer a condensed selection of the present stock. The co-owners intend to eliminate a lot of the magazines that customers can purchase elsewhere and reduce newspaper sales from daily to weekends only. “It will be more of a ‘best of’ each section plus the obscure magazines that people know us for,” explained Teele.

Owners Joe Colley and Noella Teele | **Photo: Cirrus Wood/Hoodline**

July 1st will be Issues’ last day of business at the present location before reopening at the new address sometime during the week of July 2nd. Hours have yet to be determined, though both co-owners agree that the store is likely to open later in the day and stay open later in the evening to better serve commuters.

The duo look forward to the change and hope to keep many of their regulars while entertaining new customers as they make the leap from Piedmont Ave. “We just want to thank everyone who supported us at this location in the last 11 years,” said Teele.

Issues is located at 20 Glen Avenue, Oakland. They are open 9 AM to 8 PM, Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM Sunday. Their last day of business at their present address is July 1st. Opening date and hours at their new location of 644 40th street, Unit #102 are yet to be determined.