{"id":2297,"date":"2026-06-12T18:33:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297"},"modified":"2026-06-12T18:33:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:33:48","slug":"popular-store-is-closing-in-downtown-apex-now-the-mayor-has-a-plea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297","title":{"rendered":"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A popular store is closing in downtown Apex, and now the mayor has a plea.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those who have the ability to spend locally, even small acts of support<\/a> can make a meaningful difference,\u201d Mayor Jacques Gilbert said Tuesday, June 9 in a video posted to Facebook.<\/p>\n

Read more Downtown food store, Crabtree comebacks: 4 shops coming to Raleigh<\/a><\/p>\n

Gilbert urged people to shop at downtown Apex businesses after Alleyway Bookstore shared that it will leave its space. The shop said it\u2019s facing rising costs<\/a> and changes to foot traffic during a construction project outside its building on Salem Street.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know about the closure of Alleyway and the town\u2019s plans to revamp Salem Street<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alleyway opened in<\/a> 2024. The shop on its website said it sells used books that range from \u201ctimeless classics to modern bestsellers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past two and a half years, it has been a shock to us to see how popular and successful you have made our quaint, little store,\u201d the shop wrote June 6 in an Instagram post, adding that it has gained more than 2,000 social media followers and dozens of five-star Google reviews.<\/p>\n

Alleyway will stop welcoming customers late this summer. The shop didn\u2019t respond to The N&O\u2019s request for information about its final date but said it will suspend its book trade-in program as it prepares to close.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision was not taken lightly,\u201d the store wrote. \u201cOur lease is ending in a few months and we had every intention on renewing that lease. We were presented with a 64% rent increase. As a small, used bookstore business, absorbing a sudden cost that high is simply not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding to the challenge, Alleyway said rent is going up \u201cat a time when there is major construction happening outside of our door, affecting our daily customer traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more It was 101 degrees in the Triangle this week. It\u2019s about to feel even hotter.<\/a><\/p>\n

During Alleyway\u2019s last days in downtown Apex, customers can redeem their gift cards and trade-in credits. Fans also can check for new arrivals at the store and follow @alleywaybooksnc on social media for updates about a potential new location.<\/p>\n

The town of Apex<\/a>, located southwest of Raleigh, has a plan to re-design its main downtown thoroughfare of Salem Street. As of May 28, work was being done<\/a> to install light poles and soil cells, which will allow trees to grow.<\/p>\n

During construction, parts<\/a> of Salem Street have been reduced to one-way or local car traffic. Sidewalks are open on both sides of the street throughout the project, according to the town\u2019s website and Facebook page.<\/p>\n

As Gilbert addressed the Alleyway closure, he said fellow downtown business Bella + Mauve Boutique shared it could have to make difficult decisions. Now, he\u2019s encouraging people to spend money at shops in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind every storefront is someone who took a risk, invested in our community, and believed in downtown Apex,\u201d the mayor wrote in his post. \u201cMany are facing significant economic challenges right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The N&O has asked the town for an updated timeline and cost of the construction project and is awaiting a response.<\/p>\n

Questions about life in North Carolina? Or have a tip or story idea you\u2019d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Read more NC legislators want criminal probe into DSS workers over Charlotte child\u2019s death<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your question by filling out this form<\/a><\/b>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Popular Apex, North Carolina business is closing, leaving Salem Street this summer. Alleyway Bookstore in NC said rent cost went up during construction project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nPopular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Popular Apex, North Carolina business is closing, leaving Salem Street this summer. Alleyway Bookstore in NC said rent cost went up during construction project.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T18:33:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T18:33:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297\"},\"wordCount\":615,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297\",\"name\":\"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T18:33:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"Southern Wake and Northern Harnett along 42\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2297#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"Popular Apex, North Carolina business is closing, leaving Salem Street this summer. Alleyway Bookstore in NC said rent cost went up during construction project.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-12T18:33:48+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea","datePublished":"2026-06-12T18:33:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297"},"wordCount":615,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297","name":"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-12T18:33:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cd86d1fc4921fad896bff6de0618b697.jpg","width":1199,"height":674,"caption":"Southern Wake and Northern Harnett along 42"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2297#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Popular store is closing in downtown Apex. Now the mayor has a plea"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}