The huge downtown Chapters is closing (which means another iconic Toronto retail space is up for grabs)

Yet more evidence that physical bookstores are the Blockbusters of the 2010s: yesterday, Indigo announced that it will be shutting down the big Chapters store next to the Scotiabank Theatre at John and Richmond. The store is slated to close on May 30.

“After lengthy negotiations, we have made the difficult decision not to renew our lease,” Indigo vice president Janet Eger told the Star in an email. “We believe there continue to be opportunities for us to better serve our GTA customers.” Toronto Chapters locations seem to be a dying breed: earlier this week, the Indigo-owned World’s Biggest Bookstore called it quits, and in mid-February the company’s Runnymede location did the same. (Eger says Indigo is already on the hunt for a new downtown lease, so readers and wicker-basket collectors need not despair entirely.)

All this brings us to the real question, though: who’s moving in? The space is big and well enough located to attract some serious retail contenders—provided they can get see beyond the gargantuan red Rubik’s Cube perched awkwardly on the roof—so it should be interesting to see what happens next. With any luck, the replacement will be something equally useful to moviegoers looking to kill time before a show.