Book Revue employee ready to start next chapter
A couple of months after the Book Revue in Huntington village closed its doors for the last time, a former store manager is ready to start a new chapter.
Mallory Braun, of Stony Brook, launched a Kickstarter campaign Nov. 1 to raise funds for a new bookstore in the village in the spirit of Book Revue. Her goal is to raise $250,000 in 45 days on the crowdfunding platform, and she plans to call the business The Next Chapter.
Opening her own business is something that the 28-year-old started thinking about seriously after the Book Revue’s owner, Richard Klein, announced the store was closing this summer.
“It was never something that was on the front burner, but it’s been something that I have had interest in for quite some time,” she said.
Braun said she enjoyed working at the Book Revue and learned a lot when she was employed there. For less than a year she was a bookseller, before going on to be manager, a position she held for more than five years. After a while, Braun said she specialized in used and rare books
She said the plan is to open a store within walking distance of the former Book Revue storefront. Right now she has a store in mind and if her fundraising attempts are successful, she believes she’ll have the funds necessary to open the store in that location. If not, she has two other locations she has considered as a backup.
Klein has been helping her through the process.
“He’s advising me on all business matters,” Braun said. “He’s using his connections from 44 years in the business to help me, and he’s generally being there in a support role.”
The Book Revue, like many businesses in the state, had to close temporarily during the height of the pandemic. It was closed to customers for about three months, but the business tried to be innovative, she said, in order to survive.
“We still sold books every day that we were shut down,” Braun said. “We were selling books on Instagram, on social media, and we were selling books by cracking the door open.”
She added that customers would call and pay by credit card and then would pick up orders curbside.
“You have to be flexible, and you have to be able to change with the times,” Braun said. “And that was what I was thinking then and that’s what I’m thinking now.”
Right now, she is juggling a few jobs. In addition to preparing to open a new business, she babysits for a family in Roslyn and also works for an online business called J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians, a rare book online business in Syosset.
Through the years Braun, who holds degrees in journalism and Italian studies, has learned about the importance of juggling responsibilities, which she says require discipline and good time management.
“I have to be pretty disciplined, but I’m lucky because I have a lot of people who are really looking out for me and are willing to be flexible,” she said.
Braun said she learned a lot from Klein and her experience has taught her “to find people whose opinions you trust and also to keep your own counsel.”
Klein said he told Braun that opening a business is something one has to really want, and he feels she does, adding he wouldn’t be providing moral support if he didn’t think so. He said it’s important for a person to have tenacity and determination when opening a business.
“You don’t let anything stop you, and you don’t let obstacles bother you,” he said. “You just keep going. And you will face all kinds of difficulties and defeats along the way, but if you just keep getting up and keep working at it, that’s more than half the battle. First, you decide to act, and then the rest is tenacity.”
Klein said Braun is energetic, smart and determined, and “she has a lot of good ideas.”
He also feels The Next Chapter will continue the legacy of Book Revue.
“When she gets this off the ground, I think it’s going to be a place that people are going to enjoy coming to,” Klein said.
Braun said the new bookstore will deal in used, remaindered, rare and collectible books as well as vinyl records. Slowly but surely, she has been acquiring books and records that people have been donating or selling to her.
The number of new books will be limited, at first but her plan is to increase the selection over time.
The budding entrepreneur said she also plans to have workshops, classes, author readings and book signings “to reincarnate the spirit of Book Revue.”
She said she believes the new store will add some character to the village.
“I think people will be pleasantly surprised when they come to a new space and look around,” she said.
To donate, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/bookrevue/book-revue-the-next-chapter. As of Nov. 3, more than $50,000 has been donated from over 420 backers. If the goal of raising $250,000 is not met in 45 days, all funds will be returned to donors.
