The economic downturn and competition from bigger players and the Internet have conspired to force the closing of the Reader’s Cove bookstore and its Half Moon Bay Coffee Co.

Owner Charles Kane, in a weekend Facebook posting, said Friday, July 6, would be the last day for the Harmony Road business.

“It has always been my dream to be a bookstore owner and even at this hour, I would not have traded away this opportunity,” Kane said on the company’s Facebook account. The same message was left on the bookstore’s website.

Kane opened the bookstore in 2006.

He said the store “never really recovered from the economic downturn” of 2008-09 and has been “hanging on by our fingernails for a couple of years.”

Other factors led to the demise of the business, he said, including inadequate initial funding, and learning how to best address “the realities of taking on a large chain and the bigger threat:
 the internet.”

Kane said his “biggest concern” at this time is for his family and employee. “We have less than a week to wrap up loose ends and try to generate enough money to complete one final paycheck for them. We also want to try and help the staff get the notice of other employers. They are exceptional employees, dynamic and dedicated no matter how rough it got.”