It’s been three months of bad news for Nicholas Hoare, but with the announcement this week that his eponymous shop in Westmount, Quebec, would be spared, the bookseller is once again in high spirits.

On Tuesday, Hoare reported that thanks to intervention by Westmount mayor Peter Trent, he had reached a temporary lease with his Green Avenue landlord. Instead of seeing his rent price increase by roughly 60 per cent, they will freeze the cost as is for the next five months with the understanding that should the business again prove viable, Hoare will sign a long-term lease agreement in the new year. Everybody has taken a big step back for the common cause, which is extraordinary, Hoare says.

The bookseller adds: It came about simply because of the mayor of Westmount, bless his heart, who came out of a clear blue sky and nobbled me. He said, ˜I’m just not letting you go. I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to bloody well make sure this turns around.’

Trent, a personal friend of Hoare’s, says he championed the store after receiving phone calls and letters from constituents. His shop is an institution, Trent says. I think it’s important that the political arm get involved in the quality life of citizens, and the quality of life is very much affected by our shopping areas.

Hoare admits that he was skeptical, and at 70 years old, he figured it might be as good a time as any to retire. What shook him from those thoughts was Trent’s take on the shop: ˜You are no longer a bookstore, but a community centre. I’m less interested in preserving your bookstore than I am the whole ball of wax.’ That’s how he put it, Hoare recalls.

Hoare says the response to the store’s reprieve has been electrifying, with more than 40 calls coming in from well-wishers and media on Tuesday alone. It’s clear that the community is responding with a vengeance “ it struck a nerve.

In March, Hoare announced that he would be shuttering his locations in Ottawa and the Montreal district of Westmount due to rising rents. The former closed in April, and the latter was slated to wind down by July 31. Hoare’s third outlet, located on Front Street in Toronto, continues business as usual.