Parnell Street’s iconic Chapters Bookstore to be replaced with gym

The much-loved second hand bookshop have reportedly already secured a new, smaller city centre premises.

Chapters have been on a serious journey over the past year.

In October 2021, Dublin bookworms were distraught when the Parnell Street shop announced their closure after almost 40 years in business. At the end of January this year, Chapters closed their doors for a final time but, to the city’s delight, reopened in March under new management, as the former directors of GameStop Ireland took over.

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Now, Chapters are set to move to a new home as their current location may be turned into a gym.

According to the Irish Times, a planning application to DCC is seeking permission for a change of use of the premises of Chapters from retail to a gym facility. The planning application, lodged by applicant O’Mahony Pike Architects on behalf of JOM Investments Unlimited Company, stated that Chapters had “realised the store was much larger than required” by 2007, which was “compounded when the recession hit in 2008/2009″.

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Chapters has been at its current location on Parnell Street since 2006. Before that, it had occupied a smaller premises.

According to the Times, Chapters’ new owners are “keen to provide an online presence” and have already secured another, smaller location in the city centre which would allow it to “continue to trade in the city centre on a much more sustainable basis, ensuring its future”.

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