CLOSING THE BOOKS

MGM Mirage is retooling some of the offerings inside Mandalay Place, the 100,000-square-foot shopping mall that connects Mandalay Bay with Luxor.

Among the casualties will be the Reading Room, an upscale bookstore popular with the local literary community.

No date has been given for closing the nearly 1,300-square-foot shop that carries new titles, limited editions and selections not found in the major book store chains.

The Reading Room, at the mall's southern end near the entrance to Mandalay Bay, was also a favorite of local writers who would use the spot for book signings and launches.

Stephen Grogan, a Las Vegas author whose novel, "Vegas Die," is being released March 1, had hoped to unveil the book at the Reading Room.

"It's sad because the Reading Room has such an ideal atmosphere," Grogan said. "It felt more like a New York City literary place rather than a typical bookstore. It was kind of an oasis of peace and calm in the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas."

Scott Voeller, vice president of hotel marketing for Mandalay Bay, said the Reading Room fell victim to what happens routinely in the retail industry. Mall operators will often look at the mix of retail tenants and how the stores relate to the shopping center's primary customer base.

Sadly, Voeller said, the Reading Room had a strong local base of customers, but wasn't able to draw from the visitor market brought in by Mandalay Bay and Luxor. He didn't say what would replace the Reading Room.

"We want to make sure we are offering the right type of mix for the type of customer demographic that is frequenting the mall," Voeller said. "We know (the Reading Room) has a place in the hearts of a lot of locals. But we have to look at who we are and who we attract at Mandalay Bay and Luxor."

MGM Mirage acquired Mandalay Place as part of the company's $7.9 billion buyout of the Mandalay Resort Group in April 2005. The mall has 41 shops and restaurants, some of which are owned by MGM Mirage. Other locations in the mall are leased to the shop owners.

Employees of the Reading Room are employees of MGM Mirage and were not allowed to discuss the store's closing.

In December, MGM Mirage closed Five Little Monkeys, a children's toy store, and two men's and women's fashion outlets. In January, 55 Degrees, a wine bar and retail outlet, closed.

Voeller said six stores opened last year, including several contemporary boutiques and trendy fashion outlets. He said other offerings will be announced this year.

"You talk to anyone in retail and this is a cycle all malls go through," Voeller said. "Stores switch out all the time based on life cycles and demographics. We know emotion sometimes meshes with business sensibility. We hope this concept springs up somewhere else."

The Reading Room opened in November 2003 and was created by former Mandalay Resort Group President Glenn Schaeffer, who holds a master's of fine arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has established several literary programs locally and nationally.

Schaeffer couldn't be reached for comment Friday. Earlier this week, he told Las Vegas City Life it wasn't up to him to tell MGM Mirage how to run Mandalay Place.

"The idea was to have a literary book store, a tiny oasis within the scale of the big stores," Schaeffer told the weekly alternative newspaper. "It was a compact space but with much variety in the wares. At the same time, it projected an independent, literary bookstore feel."

Schaeffer is now the president and chief executive officer of Fontainebleau Resorts, the company building the $2.9 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which is scheduled to open in 2010. Grogan is hopeful the gaming executive might want to revive the Reading Room at the new casino.

"It's the perfect example of a cultural amenity in Las Vegas that's beyond a gift shop," Grogan said.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3871.