Bookshop Darlinghurst to close after 43 years.
It is with a heavy heart that we share: after more than four decades of serving Sydney’s LGBTQ+ community, The Bookshop Darlinghurst will close its doors.
Its final day of trading is expected to be around 24 December 2025.
This announcement marks the end of a chapter not just for a bookstore, but for a gathering place, safe haven, and cultural landmark.
In a statement to the community, owner Charles Gregory wrote:
“Since 1982, The Bookshop Darlinghurst has proudly served Sydney’s LGBTIQ+ communities – a safe, bold, and welcoming space where queer stories have lived on the shelves and in people’s lives. I am very sad to say that after 43 years, this historic chapter is coming to an end.
“When I took over as the new owner in June 2024, my vision was to relocate and reimagine The Bookshop for a new generation, with a larger space across the street in the redevelopment of Oxford & Foley by Toga where we could hold events. Unfortunately, the development – the new shop was to be housed in the third and least-finalised of those buildings – has faced repeated delays. What was meant to be a move in late-2024 has been pushed back 3 times, and has now been pushed again into 2026. Even that timing, as far as I can tell, remains uncertain.
“These delays have meant the shop has missed out on vital peak trading periods – Christmas, summer holidays, and Mardi Gras – and it resulted in the shop having to look for new office space at an extra cost, while rent for the shop itself, and other expenses, climbed considerably. The financial strain, including significant funds already outlaid towards complying with development consent obligations for the fit-out in what is a heritage space in the Toga building, combined with a quiet winter of trade, has simply become too great.
“Rather than attempt to wait it out for what will be an expensive fit-out in a delayed development whose opening date is now, ultimately, unknowable, I have made the very difficult decision to close.
“Final day of trading: probably 24 December 2025.
