Fountain Bookstore moves across the street, cozying up in a new, larger location

The last thing you’d expect in a bookstore is a giraffe.

But in Fountain Bookstore’s new location, one holds a chandelier in their mouth for readers purchasing new books. 

The giraffe doesn’t have an official name, though store owner Kelly Justice encourages her customers to come up with one themselves.

“The giraffe is just like Fountain — it’s for everybody,” Justice said.

“The giraffe has weirdly become sort of symbolic of what the whole idea of Fountain is.”

The bookstore’s giraffe now lives just 30 feet from the shop’s original storefront, where the business began nearly 50 years ago. The old space was cozy, but it was cramped — it’ll now be used for classes and other events.

Justice, who purchased the store in 2008, had spent a decade searching for a new location. She considered relocating or opening a second branch, but she was determined to remain in Shockoe Slip.

The bookstore began renting basement storage in a neighboring building. One day, the building’s landlord asked Justice if she knew anyone interested in moving into the main space. That’s when Justice knew where Fountain Bookstore’s new home would be: across the street.

Throughout the moving process, Justice fretted that a new location would lose the store’s signature snug charm. The old building had a special scent, she said, and acoustics, while the new location had been a sterile tech store.

“People, including myself, were very attached to the old location. It has a warmth,” Justice said.

“But you can’t recreate a space like that.”

The transformation process quickly turned collaborative. When Justice involved Richmond-based designers, including CPL Architects and LaDiff, the new location hit its stride. The designers introduced new, quirky elements to the space — including the giraffe, multi-colored bunnies and a “Game of Thrones”-inspired chandelier — while integrating nods to the old location — such as the faux-brick wall.

“Once I let go and started having fun … it just all came together,” Justice said.

“We’re a loud and silly bookstore.”

Embracing Fountain Bookstore’s whimsy was key in finding the new store’s identity. Justice set out to create a sanctuary that provides “discovery and delight.” This pursuit helped some of the old location’s energy find its way home.

“Some of it sort of came here by accident,” she said, adding, “I think people are just happy that their butts aren’t hitting stuff all the time.” 

At the old location, the booksellers’ break room was a “Harry Potter”-esque closet under a staircase next to the bathroom. The only thing between an employee eating their lunch and customers was a shower curtain. Now, there’s a new back room (plus a coffee maker) with plenty of storage for both books and staff's belongings.

“They make this happen, they are the warmth, they are the soul and they deserved better,” she said.

A big motivator for the move is also the main reason behind the store’s membership subscriptions: its employees. These tiered programs offer free books, store credit, discounts, newsletters and more.

Justice said she wants the employees to have livable wages, which is why the subscription money goes toward frequent bonus checks. The program has been “overwhelmingly successful” since it launched in January, Justice said, which she credits to the community that has built itself around the bookstore.

The community also plays a role in which books the store stocks. While Justice and employees will sell popular picks, new releases and books that fit the shop’s vibe, they also pick books they know will interest specific frequent customers. That personal touch is what Justice said makes Fountain Bookstore unique.

“Turns out that the warmth of the store was contained in, not just the space, but in the people — the people that work here, the people that shop here,” Justice said emphatically. “That’s where the warmth is.”

Contact Reporting Intern Eleanor Shaw at eshaw@richmonder.org