This month, Doron Locketz and his team began the painstaking process of dismantling a bookstore that has stood as a fixture of Melville for more than three decades.
It was a place that was never simply about buying and selling books, but about discovery, memory and the quiet magic of turning pages.
A literary landmark faces uncertainty
“It’s been awful, absolutely traumatic, moving from a place we’ve been in for over 30 years,” Locketz admitted. “So many memories are tied to this place.”
Longtime patrons of Bookdealers of Melville were recently taken aback by news of a “relocation sale”.
After 30 years in the same beloved building, the store faced an unexpected challenge: a new landlord had raised the rent significantly, forcing Locketz to consider moving for the first time in three decades.
Initially, it was announced that the store would be closing down. But the good news is that the cultural icon has won a last-minute reprieve and thanks to a deal with a neighbouring coffee shop, The Sourcery, the bookshop is only moving a few metres further down 7th Street.
As Locketz said: “Books and coffee – well, they just go together.”
From chartered accountant to bookseller
Locketz was never meant to end up surrounded by shelves of books as he had trained as a chartered accountant.
His love affair with books began in childhood and only deepened over time, growing into a formidable personal collection by adulthood.
Today, that lifelong passion shapes not just his livelihood, but his identity.
“I always tell customers,” he said, “collecting books and reading books are two completely different hobbies”.
Inside his bookstore on Melville’s iconic 7th Street strip, Locketz recalls that when he made the leap from accounting to bookselling full-time, his father was not immediately convinced.
“He thought I might fail,” Locketz admitted with a wry smile. But as the years passed and the business flourished, doubt turned into pride – and his father became one of his earliest and most steadfast supporters, impressed by the fact that passion could indeed pay the bills.
More than 35 years ago, long before Bookdealers became a fixture of Johannesburg’s literary landscape, Locketz’s journey began at the humble tables of local flea markets.
A changing industry in the digital age
Armed with the precision of a chartered accountant and a growing instinct for the trade, he began to see possibilities where others saw clutter.
What started as a side pursuit soon demanded more of his time and imagination.
Eventually, Locketz made the decisive leap, turning away from the certainty of his profession to follow a passion that had been quietly shaping his life all along.
At its height, Locketz’s quiet passion had grown into a small literary empire. He owned seven stores scattered across Johannesburg, each one reflecting the character of its surroundings.
In more affluent enclaves like Rosebank and Rivonia, Bookdealers catered to polished tastes and curated collections, while in bohemian and working-class neighbourhoods such as Melville and Yeoville, the stores took on a different rhythm – eclectic, unpretentious and alive with the energy of the communities they served.
Yet, the industry around him has changed dramatically.
“The book trade is not what it once was. Books are unfortunately not the flavour of the day,” he said.
In an era dominated by mobile screens and digital distractions, Locketz believes the slow, immersive magic of books is being eclipsed – with its place in everyday life steadily eroded by the demands of the modern attention economy.
But as the door closes, another one is opening down the street.
This story is produced by Our City News, a non-profit newsroom that serves the people of Joburg
