One More Page Books: Thriving Through Community

You see, bookshops are dreams built of wood and paper. They are time travel and escape and knowledge and power. They are, simply put, the best of places.

~ Jen Campbell, The Bookshop Book

For bibliophiles and bookstore lovers in the City of Falls Church, One More Page Books (OMPB) – an “indie bookstore with books, wines and chocolates” – serves as the premier local book shopping and browsing experience. 

Pleasantly situated near shops, restaurants and parks at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street in Arlington, just outside the City of Falls Church, OMPB is known for their knowledgeable and friendly staff, carefully curated collections, frequent author talks, wine and chocolate tastings, community fundraisers and activism, quirky specialty events – and, of course, a famous pop-in visit from President Obama and daughters, Sasha and Malia, on Small Business Saturday in 2012. 

The Falls Church Independent interviewed Founder and Owner of One More Page Books Eileen McGervey. We were curious how OMPB has managed to survive and thrive while so many other local booksellers have had to close shop.

The Bookstore Crisis

Since 1998 when Amazon was founded, over half the nation’s physical bookstores have disappeared and the number of independent brick-and-mortar booksellers has decreased by 63.2 percent, according to Dimitri Curcic of Wordsrated.com. 

With the recent shuttering of the massive two-story Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Tysons Corner, bookstore aficionados in Falls Church continue to see fewer options for local brick-and-mortar book shopping. 

Curiously, the City of Falls Church – ranked as the wealthiest city in Virginia and the 8th wealthiest in the United States by SmartAsset in 2022 – does not contain a single bookstore.

One More Page Books Continues to Serve

Fortunately, however, OMPB, has managed – through niche and clever marketing and powerful community building – to enjoy widespread customer affection and recognition and serve as a model for how small and local independent booksellers can survive. They opened at their current location in January, 2011. 

In her LinkedIn profile, McGervey describes how she found just the right niche to harness her knowledge of marketing while channeling her passion for books into a thriving community-building experience, a key to OMPB’s success. “Our mission is to provide a place for our community to come together to share a love of reading and books,” she says. “I escaped from corporate marketing to a place where I'm surrounded by my favorite things – books, wine, chocolate, and people who enjoy them. I get to see more of my family and friends than ever since the store opened – now that everyone knows where to find me.”

McGervey described to us her passion for bringing people and books together. “Talking about books with people and hearing authors talk about their books and the conversations they spark – ” she reminisced, “Plus folks’ excitement when they come into the store for the first time and feel like this is their new favorite place – brings us real joy!”

OMPB’s Origin Story

We asked McGervey to give her version of OMPB’s origin story. “I like to say I’m an escapee from the corporate world. But in truth, I have loved reading and books since I was a child,” McGervey said. “ My first job in high school was as a page, shelving books on the bookmobile that visited our community. I thought there was nothing better than to be around books all of the time and to talk about them with people who loved to read as much as I did.” 

But challenges abounded in launching the store, given the lingering effects of the Great Recession. “One More Page was being set up and opening in the midst of an economic downturn which made financing nearly impossible for someone with no track record in retail or bookselling,” McGervey said. “Thankfully, I had friends and family who helped me fund the store and get it up and going.”

Finding the Niche

The trick was to carve out a unique niche to differentiate OMPB from other booksellers, while making the enterprise a joy to launch. McGervey also had to offer retail items and experiences beyond simply books, to draw in revenue, make the shop distinctive, and enhance community. 

“In addition to a wonderful curated book selection, we sell wine and gourmet chocolate!” McGervey enthused. “Books, wine and chocolate are three things I enjoy and thought that combination would attract like-minded people. We also hope that folks who stopped by to purchase wine might hear an author speak or see a book that would grab their attention and want to come back for the books. Unexpectedly, when we first opened, selling wine in the store turned out to be something that really grabbed the attention of local press, publishers and customers – something fun that differentiated us from other stores.”

But it hasn’t been easy.

So, how has McGervey managed to keep the shop afloat while other bookstores have had to shutter? 

“Whew, it has not been easy,” McGervey said. “Unlike many other types of stores, bookstores do not have the luxury of adjusting prices (except down) because prices are printed on the books. In an area like Northern Virginia, a much higher percentage of our revenue goes to our rent as compared to stores in less populated areas and we want to make sure that our staff is paid as close to a living wage as possible. Fortunately, we have very loyal customers and author supporters who spread the word about the store to their friends and who have come through when we had financial difficulties. It’s quite humbling to have people care about the store and want to make sure we stay here by donating money or participating in an auction we had several years ago.”

Auctions and GoFundMe Campaigns

In 2019, the Washington Post ran an opinion piece by author Ellen Crosby – OMPB’s first guest author speaker when the store opened in 2011 – calling attention to OMPB’s auction efforts designed to raise money to be able to afford the 30 percent property tax increase from Arlington County. To add insult, the tax increase came just after the county had “granted behemoth bookseller Amazon a $23 million tax incentive package to situate its HQ2 in One More Page’s Backyard [at National Landing].

Crosby quoted McGervey’s reaction, a plea to shop local to keep small businesses like hers from succumbing. “Think about where you buy things, where you shop. If people don’t support local businesses like ours,” she said, “one day we’ll be gone.”

And the shop has just completed an online fundraiser to help stay afloat. In the last few days, McGervey and her staff took to social media to thank the outpouring of donations received following a GoFundMe fundraiser launched a little over a week ago to help pay the shop’s rising maintenance and refurbishing costs. Over 400 members of the store’s expansive community of supporters donated to help meet fundraising goals “in just one week.” (Supporters may still contribute to the GoFundMe site, see above.)

“It’s Eileen, the (mostly) fearless leader of OMP, an indie bookstore in North Arlington/Falls Church,” the pitch begins. “Thanks to our wonderfully supportive community, we’ve been here for over 12 years! We’d like to stay here for 12 more, but we’re struggling with some financial issues.”

“The profit margin for small businesses is notoriously small, and over time, even new small expenses or slight revenue dips add up,” the appeal continues. The shop was struggling to pay for website enhancements since the pandemic, plumbing and AC issues, new ceiling lights and other costs rising with inflation.

“Our goal is to provide a place for the community to come together to share a love of reading and books. We strive to be a place for discussion and exploration through author talks, book clubs and conversation. We are so proud of the work we’ve done in the Arlington and Falls Church communities these past dozen years, and we want nothing more than to continue. We love the opportunity to talk with you about books and promote other local businesses... That's what we're about.”

“If we've ever helped you find the perfect book, hosted an event with your favorite author, or brightened your day with a chocolate bar or a kind word, we're asking you to consider donating to our campaign...”

It’s All About Community

For McGervey, the creation of community is not only a vehicle to expand the network of book buyers or online supporters. It’s a two-way street, where she also wants to reach out and give back to the community. “We strive to create a community in the store and also to be part of the wider community – through author events, book giveaways, book clubs, working with other local businesses via our Boozy Book Fair partnership with Audacious Aleworks and our annual Small Business Passport program,” she said. “And we love to talk with our customers about books – what they’re reading, what we’re reading, what’s new, etc.” 

And it’s not just all for the sake of keeping the business operating. An independent bookstore is essential to the health of a community, McGervey believes. 

“We think the community is essential to us and we do all kinds of activities to connect and develop community,” McGervey said. “We regularly host author events, book clubs, puzzle exchanges and wine tastings, as well as ‘specialty’ events like our recent Sweetest 16 Chocolate Competition and Taylor Swift Bracelet Night events."

"We go beyond the physical walls of the bookstore to be where people are with things like our event support for Arlington and Fairfax Library programs and Boozy Book Fairs with Audacious Aleworks. At our most recent one, Preservation Biscuit Company joined in by staying open late to serve their delicious menu.” 

“On Small Business Saturday, we spearhead the popular Passport program which encourages folks to visit other local businesses and restaurants in Arlington and Falls Church. We provide coupons to children and adults completing Summer Reading Programs with Mary Riley Styles Library and Fairfax Public Libraries. This year is the first ever NoVa Indie Bookstore Crawl and the response has been incredible – people making daylong excursions with friends and/or family to visit multiple bookstores and enjoy a day out. That’s the kind of connection and fun we hope to help create." 

“We also hold fundraisers where a portion of sales goes to an organization, most recently World Central Kitchen, or partner with organizations to support specific programs, most recently with class books for the Georgetown University Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) and, annually, with Moms Demand Action, as well as many others." 

“Last summer we did Book Bingo to encourage readers to try different genres and had prizes throughout as well as a congratulatory dinner for the winners."

Creating a Strong Team

And community also extends to the staff itself. McGervey employs 10 “mostly part time” staffers, often seeking out folks who are “passionate about reading and [enjoy] discussing books as well as learning about books that may be outside their usual genre(s).” 

She credits Lelia Nebeker for the outstanding book curation at the store. “We receive many compliments on the diversity and breadth of our selection,” McGervey said. “Each of us has our favorite genre(s) and authors which we share with Lelia. Throughout the store, you see post-its which each staff member puts on their favorite reads. These serve as recommendations to customers and fellow staff members.”

What the Obama Visit Meant

McGervey was at the store the day President Obama and his daughters visited for Small Business Saturday in January, 2012. 

It was a “busy day at the store,” when McGervey “went to assist several folks who had just come in the store and said – ‘President Obama and his daughters will be here in 10 minutes.’ We did not have advance warning other than that,” she recalled.

“It was a wonderful whirlwind and President Obama was so kind and gracious, making sure my mom, who was visiting that weekend, was included in the photo. By the time he left, there was a huge crowd outside and such a roar went up when he came out. We heard from SO many people who saw it on the news. One of the best things was how many people said (and say) – President Obama came to my bookstore – a real sense of ownership and connection to One More Page.”

Coming Up on the Calendar

Lovers of OMPB know and appreciate how active the store’s calendar is, demonstrating how the store is a community leader, not just a repository of books for sale.

Per McGervey, here’s what’s coming up in the next few weeks:

We’re entering the final two weeks of the NoVa Indie Bookstore Crawl which runs though May 31st.

Wed, May 22, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Our second Boozy Book Fair will be held at Audacious Aleworks Fairfax Location.

Tues, June 11, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.: Cheers to Queer Books: Blind Date with a Book & Bubbly event.

Wed, June 19, 7 – 8 p.m.: Local author Angie Kim will meet with our Mystery Book Group when they discuss her novel, Miracle Creek.

Tues, July 16, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.: Former OMP staffer Amanda Quain celebrates the release of her third book, Dashed, a contemporary update of Sense and Sensibility.

By Christopher Jones