Bisbee landmark Atalanta’s up for sale
Owner wants to move to Israel
BISBEE — After 38 years in the business, Old Bisbee business owner Joan Werner is putting Atalanta’s Music and Books up for sale.
Atalanta’s in the old J.C.Penney’s building has been a jumping off point for many local writers and a favorite place to come for book signings by well-known authors like J.A. Jance since Werner opened the doors 18 years ago.
After Werner first bought the building, she has slowly been making changes, renovating it with eco-friendly materials and converting it to solar-power. It is the first business operation in Bisbee to be powered completely by the sun.
She moved to Bisbee on New Year’s Eve in 1974 and went to work for the old chili sauce cannery in Elfrida. Then she started working for Circles Robinson who owned the Red, Black and Green Record Store in the old Woolworth building that had been turned into a mini-mall. She began buying up used books, records and tapes and they split the profit from the sales.
Werner does have a person interested in buying the shop, but nothing concrete yet. She hopes to get $80,000 for it, which includes the first year’s rent and utilities. The space would then be leased year-to-year. Whoever gets it also gets a 7,000-member list of loyal customers.
For more information on Atalanta’s, check out the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AtalantasBisbee or contact Werner at (520) 432-9976.