For Jamie Fortin, the owner and founder of Friends to Lovers bookstore in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, the shop’s celebration of love goes beyond its focus on romance novels.
The romance novels are the main draw of the first romance bookstore in the D.C. metro area, of course. But after she poured her heart into her dream and then watched it go up in flames, Fortin learned that love also comes in the form of community – lifting it up, and being lifted in return.
“It was really humbling that people trusted us with this vision, because I knew this was something that we needed,” she said.
Fortin has wanted to create community at Friends to Lovers since the store had its first grand opening in November 2024. That’s when she told News4 that she wanted it to be a space built for women and people in the LGBTQ+ community, catering to their interests.
“I think romance bookstores are so popular but so underrepresented in the bookstore market,” Fortin said in November. “And also the romance genre in general, in bookstores in all cities, but especially in D.C., where we focus a lot on politics and other subgenres that cater to work and also to men.”
D.C. has one of the highest ratios of women to men compared to most of the U.S., Fortin explained. But despite that, many of the spaces in the city — sports bars and clubs, beer halls and many of the social clubs the city has to offer — were created with men in mind and women as an afterthought.
“I think there need to be more spaces where it’s not just that women are welcome, but that women are celebrated and the things that we love are celebrated,” she said in November. “It’s not just about how we’re struggling or the fight to get our rights or take them back. It really is about celebrating love and celebrating joy.”
That connection and joy is what differentiates romance novels from novels that happen to contain a romance or affair, Fortin said when News4 caught up with her this June.
“The core of the romance genre is that it has happily ever after,” Fortin said, centering joy and intimacy. “The characters overcome adversity, and they get to the other side.”
Connection like that isn’t just fiction to Fortin: It was integral to Friends to Lovers’ survival.
The store’s first grand opening on Nov. 16, 2024, went well. Videos on the shop’s prolific Instagram and TikTok pages show the crowds of people laughing, chatting, drinking and having fun. Photos show a line of people stretching out the door before the ribbon cutting.
“What an unforgettable day! 💖📚” the shop posted soon after.
But just under three days later, disaster struck.
“That night, really, I just got a call at like 11 p.m. that the store was on fire,” Fortin said. “Like I just got a text, ‘There’s a fire,’ in all caps, which was terrifying.”
The damage was significant.
The inside of the building was destroyed, covered in soot and smoke residue. The store’s merchandise was unsafe to sell. Three businesses — all women-owned — were forced to close the night of Nov. 18.
Fortin spent a lot of that night crying, she admitted, but “there wasn’t time to mope about it,” she said.
A fire on Sunday heavily damaged Friends to Lovers Bookstore and two other shops in the same building, forcing the bookstore to close just days after opening. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.
The next day, businesses in the charred building shut down. But they gathered with others on the block, and started to plan their next moves.
“We all really rallied together immediately,” she said.
That’s when Fortin learned the community wanted to build her up, too.
Within a week of the fire, the GoFundMe campaign raised $46,000, Fortin said. Donors ranged from local business owners to grad students sharing what little cash they had, pitching in to help Friends to Lovers get back on its feet. Most of them were people who had never been in the store.
Knowing how important the holiday rush is for small businesses — especially new ones — other business owners hosted books in their storefronts so Friends to Lovers could still sell enough merchandise to make it through the season.
“About five months later, we were able to fully open a new location,” Fortin said. “And we are so grateful for where we’re at now.”
She’s not passing up the second chance she’s been given, with the shop’s new, larger space at 301 Cameron Street.
“I would say that this is a welcoming and safe space for all women and queer people,” Fortin said.
And Friends to Lovers’ community building has an activist bent to it.
The store carries books with stories featuring all kinds of characters, portraying different races, sexualities and abilities. Stickers available for sale carry messages like “Proud Parent” in rainbow lettering, or “Ban Bigotry, Not Books.”
Embroidery hung on the walls shows off a protester with a sign that reads “Stop pretending racism is patriotism,” while gay, lesbian, trans and asexual pride flags flutter on a garland hung from the ceiling and over a wide window overlooking the street.
They carry tampons and Plan B in the bathroom, Fortin said, and give away free red cards — business-card-sized lists of civil rights anyone in the U.S. has, translated into different languages.
“We really have been trying to not just build a community around books, but also around keeping people who enjoy those books safe and happy and healthy in this time,” Fortin said.
But Fortin says that’s not the same thing as turning people away based on politics.
“If you are coming in as a kind and empathetic and respectful person, we’re not gonna ask you what your political affiliation is,” she said. “We’re not gonna ask you who you voted for, you know? We’re gonna ask you what kind of books you like to read.”
Though the space she’s creating at Friends to Lovers is focused on women and queer people, Fortin said, she means it when she says anybody is welcome. That’s also part of building community.
“We love to have the conversations with all ages and all people,” she said. “And stories really are the way we connect with one another and the way we learn about new people and things … I think this is really the perfect medium to, even if you don’t fully understand it, to start kind of accepting and loving your neighbor better.”
She’s trying to give back some of the resilience she was gifted from the community, she explained, when the fire almost took everything away.
“A lot of small businesses… have said ‘You went through a lot, but you came back stronger,’ and I have confidence to build my business now,” Fortin said. “That’s kind of, I think, a testament to the kind of impact we’ve had, and how resilience can really inspire other people to build what they love and build their dreams … Sustainable businesses, where we try to put the community first.”
And anyone looking for a great romance can find it in her bookstore.
“Every time I meet someone’s grandma, I’ll tell you, no matter what their political affiliation is, they read romance and they will gab about it with me,” Fortin said, laughing.
News4 digital intern Annika Duneja contributed to this report.