On Friday, the Durham native and owner of The Know Book Store and Restaurant, placed his last special book order, sold the last bean pie, and sponsored his last open jazz jam.

On Saturday, community members and helpers brought boxes by to help Bridges pack up the contents of his tattered building on Fayetteville Street, just down from N.C. Central University.

"I feel it is a tragedy for black Durham because The Know Bookstore is considered an institution, and for us to let this institution die is a tragedy," said Fahim Knight, a longtime patron. "I still think that Durham and the black community could have done more to keep him where he's at."

This week the community hangout will close its doors at the location it has filled for the past 19 years. In a public debate last year about the future of the building, landlord Mozella McLaughlin initially said Bridges, 60, had to be out by December to allow her family to build a café and cultural center. She later extended the date to Thursday, Bridges said. McLaughlin declined to comment for this article.

Over the weekend, Bridges maintained some routines as he scrambled to answer the store's portable phone, fry up fish, introduce his diverse customers to each other, and answer questions about black history and literature. But he also supervised movers, explained the closing, and relayed phone conversations from disappointed senators and other customers.

Bridges and others reminisced about explosive jam sessions, lectures by prominent black leaders, and the bones in the spot fish that Harry Connick Jr. once ordered and wrote a song about.

Some customers said the McLaughlins are replicating the business Bridges created. Others said it is time for The Know to seek out bigger and better digs.

"I hope he'll have the support of the community in his effort to do so," said Mary Wright, former NCCU dean and a faculty member at the university's law school.

The Know's books, body oils, restaurant equipment, African-American cards, Obama T-shirts, books, taped lectures from black leaders, and various other merchandise were shuttled into the basement of a closed dentist's office down the street. The items will remain there while Bridges continues his search for another location, he hopes in the Hayti area.

"I am keeping enough so when I get a location I can still open up," he said Monday morning.

The rest of The Know's contents were promised to the Durham County Library, organizations for at-risk children, a nonprofit thrift store, and a federal corrections institute, Bridges said.

A market for knowledge

The bookstore grew out of a need in the community, customers said. Bridges inspired many to question and ultimately learn about their past, religion, and community.

In the summer of 1981, Bridges started cultural awareness seminars at NCCU's Student Union. In the fall, the seminar moved to St. Joseph's AME church on Fayetteville Street, and was eventually featured live on WDUR, an AM radio station.

"People would ask me after they heard me lecture, 'Where are you getting this information? Where are you getting that information? I have never heard of this. Never heard of that,'" Bridges said. "So I kind of created a market for books in Durham by lecturing and generating interest in the African-American community to want to read and know."

The Know initially opened in downtown Durham on Dillard Street in 1982 as a used bookstore.

Bridges moved into the Fayetteville Street location in 1991. He later expanded into the facility's kitchen, and started opening up certain nights to give jazz musicians an alcohol-free venue.

Last year, McLaughlin and her family started talking with the city about using a $175,000 Neighborhood Revitalization grant and $400,000 of their own money to renovate and enlarge the building to create Mok's Jazz & Cultural Center. The plans, at the time, included a rooftop garden, an outdoor patio, a jazz café, a museum and gift shop, and possibly The Know bookstore.

The McLaughlins offered Bridges an opportunity to participate, but he said the proposed space and terms would have forced him out of business.

In October, the family withdrew the grant request. The McLaughlins indicated they were still moving forward with the project, but likely on a smaller scale.

In The Know's final days, customers described it as a historical outlet for affordable African-American goods, and a place they could find cultural affirmation, home-cooked meals, and stimulating conversation.

Jazz musicians described The Know as a place they could experiment and learn from the old school masters.

"You play what you want to play. If a person is just starting out, they are welcome to come out," said Raleigh musician Weldon Kollock. "Bruce, I commend him for having enough courage to allow that to happen."

Bridges said he will enjoy a short break before he opens a new location.

"It is just a matter of time. I am going to try to find another location," Bridges said. "I am trying to stay in the black community if I can, but if I can't, it may even be better somewhere else."