PUBLISHER NOTE, 061926, BOOK STORES and OTHER COMFORTS I MISS in PALM BEACH
I picked up my books for sale in the local author section and in the window display at Classic Bookshop last week. Their last day was June 10, 2026, after 48 years in business. Cheryl Kravetz worked there for 28 with owner Jeffrey Jocobus. I picked up the last stack of Chart magazines by their front door. Chart had that prime spot on South County Road for nine years. Taboo on Worth Avenue was another major magazine distribution spot. I’d drop a stack of magazines on the piano by the hostess stand, have lunch or a cocktail, then go to my car to re-stock. Candice Cohen’s Palm Beach Book Store on Royal Poinciana closed just months earlier than Classic Bookshop, another major loss to local authors like me. About 15 years ago, when Palm Beach Business Group rented on the second floor over the bookstore, they hosted art and held events for my Chart art gallery, as did Taboo, 264 The Grill, Leopard Lounge, BiCE and many others. A block from the bookstore building, Main Street News closed in 2016, ten years ago. Main Street often listed my books on the weekly best seller list in the Shiny Sheet long before I published my magazine in Palm Beach. More and more of the longtime small retailers are relocating or closing. The legacy island businesses have great value, not just for their history and charm, but for the collaborative services they provide. The mom-and-pops offer a sense of family and community. Too many to list here have been so supportive of me, my former Chart art gallery, my books and my magazine over the last 20 years. Many on my list are gone.
I was feeling quite nostalgic as I was driving around the island last week distributing the newest Chart magazines. In my head the song “Freebird” repeated, “If I leave here tomorrow, will you still remember me …”
I will certainly remember, and document as I have time, my cherished recollections of Palm Beach. Progress is essential and we all understand that. Things change. On my way to my place after snapping some photos, I passed a man teetering on a 12-foot ladder trimming a tall hedge with his machete. Some things do not change.
As for me, I’m back to my Summer Re-Set 2026 in a space somewhere between what was and what will be.
I posted a reel on Instagram @chartpalmbeach .
Charting Together,
Casey Tennyson, Chart Publisher, Author, Ghostwriter, Marketing and Advertising
