(From left) Andi Richardson and Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore
For nearly half of Kelly Justice’s 25-year tenure with Fountain Bookstore, she’s wanted to expand. “I’ve been talking to fixture people for 10 years. ... We’ve been ready to move for years.” All that time spent searching for the right spot brought Justice and the team back to the start — with a new location opening this spring, just across the street.
The current store, celebrating nearly 50 years at 1312 E. Cary St. in Shockoe Slip, has a dedicated client base, hosts book clubs and author events, and brings nationwide literary figures to town. Justice, the owner since 2008, has kept up with the times while maintaining the store’s cozy, lived-in feeling.
“This building came cute. You can’t get any cozier than this,” Justice says. “The store came out of the box that way.”
That sense of warmth, a crucial part of Fountain’s appeal, has some logistical downsides. “One of the goals of this new space is to make browsing more comfortable and less cramped,” Justice says. “The hope is, with more space and more inventory, that we will have more traffic, because people will be more comfortable, right? That’s the whole idea.”
Fountain Bookstore’s expanded storefront at 1307 E. Cary St.
Justice plans to operate both storefronts in tandem, focusing on bookselling at the new location at 1307 E. Cary St. and events in the current space at 1312. The new space, a former tech repair store, is roughly double the current bookselling square footage and includes significantly more space for staff and storage. Breathing life into the new space has involved a host of design choices for sections of children’s books, genre fiction, new releases and more, all meant to unite the feeling between the two.
“It’ll be all custom-built in the new space. We’re being intentional about expanding our offerings and making each section feel thoughtful for customers,” Justice says. “This is something we’re nurturing. This is something we’re literally raising.”
Along with the new location, Fountain also started memberships this year at free and paid levels. The funds collected from members go to support a living wage for full- and part-time staff, and perks include discounts, access to programming and more.
The decision to stay in the neighborhood wasn’t just an easy choice, it was a necessary one, Justice says. “I’m very committed to Shockoe Slip; it’s the bookstore’s neighborhood, and I want to stay here. By keeping this space and opening the new space, we’re hoping to start reestablishing service businesses and community spaces [in the neighborhood]. ... It’s not just about building a new space. It’s about building a new way of bookselling.”
