Jamie Fortin, owner of Friends to Lovers in Alexandria, Va., has provided an update on her bookstore, which suffered smoke and water damage in a fire Sunday night: none of the store's books or merchandise "will be safe to sell," and as a result, Fortin has increased he goal of the GoFundMe recovery campaign to $45,000.
Funds raised by the campaign will go toward rebuilding the inventory, finding a new space, and making sure that the bookstore's five booksellers and its social media manager remain employed during that time. So far, the campaign has raised more than $24,300.
Fortin wrote on the campaign page that she was finally able to enter the bookstore and assess the damage on Tuesday. She told WTOP that the "hardest part" was seeing all the custom-made items that were ruined, as they will be "harder to replace."
The fire Sunday night came just hours after Friends to Lovers had finished a weekend's worth of opening celebrations. She said that immediately following the fire, she "had a few days where I just was sad and sat with my cat and drank wine and just could grieve a little bit. But I'm really excited to rebuild."
Fortin expects the building to be unusable at least through the end of the year, and while no specifics have been announced, she is "hoping to start fresh" and find a new space.
She added: "Once I opened, I really feel like I kind of gave the store to the world. It’s not just mine anymore, and it feels like everyone’s really taking that responsibility seriously, and I'm really grateful for it."