Just One More Chapter: A Journey to Bringing Romance to Upstate NY
When I found out that Glens Falls will be unleashing a new bookstore last summer, I was excited about the continued development and flourishing of Downtown Glens Falls. The idea started with Ashley Brownell, and since her October 2024 opening, her and her husband have had unprecedented success. Quoting from Mayor Bill Collins, “I have not seen an opening day queue this long in many years!” The journey from developing the idea of running a physical bookstore to fruition was wrought with challenges, from seeking out funding sources, building custom bookshelves, acquiring tons of books, and receiving city approvals.
It all began, incidentally, at an Adirondack Winery Boozy Book Fair event last summer. Ashley, a bit tipsy and after spending close to $200 on books, had an idea: to bring the romance genre to Glens Falls. Within a couple days, her husband, Michael, and her secured a lease at 14 Ridge Street and the road to opening an independent bookstore began in earnest. Michael was a creative tradesman, so he began working on gathering materials to build the bookshelves, along with upgrading the flooring and other maintenance projects to bring the space to life.
They worked with Jeff Flagg and the Glens Falls Planning Board to help orchestrate the requirements to start a business, even having some funny anecdotal conversations. Given the unique idea, they had to convince the city that they would only be selling romance books as well as book knick-knacks, such as tote bags, bookmarks, and more, instead of their fears that it would become a sex shop. Ashley informed me that there are, currently, only two other known romance bookstores in New York State. One in NYC, called The Ripped Bodice, and in Rochester, NY, called Burn Bright Books.
Through many meetings, forms, and complex work required to secure funding, they were able to receive a portion of the money that the couple put into their bookstore, as they gathered romance books from publishers, wholesalers, and independent authors. Once they secured the final pieces of approvals and finished the organizational work of the space, the opening weekend of October 19th was momentously uplifting, relieving, but intensely stressful. Given the smaller space, hundreds of people waited in line outside, snaking their way down Ridge Street and beyond, to get a chance to see their space and support a new bookstore in town. According to Ashley, they received $33,000 in revenue the first week, nearly selling out of their collection of their custom tote bags and depleting the initial collection of books to record-setting levels.
They are open six days a week, from Tuesday through Saturday, with shortened hours on Sunday. Ashley thought of the brilliant idea to be open on Sunday’s during brunch hours next to a local restaurant, called Farmacy. The tie-in with brunch and books is marketing gold, and she says that they have had lots of success so far. The allure of a romance bookstore has also been a driving factor for customers to travel for hours to be able to visit. Ashley mentioned that there was a group of voracious readers that spent a weekend in the area, with the sole intention of making the trek to her bookstore.
One of the unique aspects of the store are the book page bouquets, lovingly crafted by the couple. It is a perfect way to recycle old books by turning them into lovely decorative pieces, whether to give as gifts or decorate a home. They have monthly paid classes that teach people how to make them. With a nearly endless selection of books in the store (and beyond), finding ways to reuse books is very environmentally conscious, offering a way to limit books thrown into landfills and provide a second life for them. The inspiration and craftiness of the book page bouquets began from happenstance by scrolling through social media, with Michael’s handiness and curiosity sparked a desire to learn how to make them.
Given the very inviting seating in the store, they hold monthly book clubs as well as allow patrons (or anyone) to sit down, rest, and read in the store. While the winter season is behind us, the ability to step out of the frigid cold temperatures to hang out at an independent bookstore is a dream for many booklovers. Their rotating design of the storefront is always a welcome sight for anyone strolling along in Downtown Glens Falls. Each month, the team at Just One More Chapter curate a beautiful selection of books to highlight, write a funny message on their sandwich-board, and install decorations for every season, from cozy fall attire to Pride Month and more. It is a welcome addition to Ridge Street, which has had a transformation in the past ten years.
As the city of Glens Falls slowly built up their downtown, they have added two new restaurants, Farmacy and Radici, an event space called 21 Ridge, the Chronicle newspaper headquarters, and the Just One More Chapter bookstore. In fact, according to Mayor Bill Collins, they have opened 28 new businesses in their downtown during the past ten years, a fact that secured Glens Falls, NY as a “model city” for New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
Just One More Chapter expects to remain a beacon for romance book enthusiasts in the upstate New York area. Their amazing design aesthetic, comfortable seating, endless selection of books, and rewards program are more than enough reasons to head to downtown Glens Falls to check them out. Delve into your next romance book and support a local, independent bookstore in the process at 14 Ridge Street.
Sean Palladino has lived in Glens Falls, NY with his husband, Michael Biele, since 2017. His website is SeanPalladino.com, where he writes on his blog, shares his amateur video-editing skills, and contributes to his local community.
