Book Revue's successor, The Next Chapter, finds permanent home for new bookstore
Mallory Braun at a Huntington warehouse, where she has amassed more than 5,000 donated books she plans to use to stock her new independent store, The Next Chapter. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Bibliophiles, rejoice. A bookstore hoping to revive the spirit of Book Revue has found a permanent location in Huntington, just blocks away from its predecessor, the owner told Newsday.
The Next Chapter has signed a lease at 204 New York Ave., a five-minute walk from Book Revue, owner Mallory Braun said Thursday.
Braun founded the new store after Book Revue, the iconic shop that operated downtown for 44 years, closed in September after failed lease negotiations. More than $257,000 poured in from over 2,200 book lovers in support of bringing an independent bookstore back to Huntington Village. Braun, a former Book Revue manager, started the new shop with Book Revue founder Richard Klein's help.
“It couldn’t have happened without the community,” Braun said. “I’ve had a lot of help from people along the way.”
Book Revue, which opened in 1977, served as a community cornerstone, which Braun hopes to replicate. She plans to offer classes, workshops, local author readings, performances and possibly a cafe.
The Next Chapter is expected to open this fall. Until then, Braun said, the store will hold pop-ups in Huntington. The next one will be held at Main Street Nursery at 475 Main St., from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. Information about pop-ups will be posted on the shop's social media.
Braun said the new location needs a “significant face-lift,” including updated floors, paint and bookshelves. The space is large enough to house surplus materials, so an off-site storage facility will not be needed, Braun said. A grocery store previously operated at the location.
Braun said she was prohibited by the lease's terms to share specifics about the deal, including its length, but said, “We’re looking to have a bookstore in Huntington for a long time.”
Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.
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