- December 20, 2024
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When Ormond Beach resident Rayna Dunlop opened her bookstore in August, she had no idea she would set up shop in the downtown just three months later.
As of Friday, Dec. 1, Dunlop's bookstore, Fern and Fable, has moved to 51 W. Granada Blvd. from its previous location at Palm Plaza.
"It was such a joy and a perfect space to get started and learn," Dunlop said. "We were nervous and unsure of how the community would respond, and everyone blew us away. We were bursting at the seams."
Storytimes were being held outside the bookstore in the parking lot. Fern and Fable's book club had grown too large to be held in-house. In the back of her mind, Dunlop said, she knew that first space was temporary, but she didn't think she would be moving quite so quickly.
But it's been an exciting change, she said.
"The way that our community has shown us their support really allowed us and provided us the opportunity to get here," Dunlop said.
About a month after opening Fern and Fable, she was driving through downtown to get coffee when she saw a sign advertising that the space at 51 W. Granada Blvd. — located between the Grind and the Chiumento law office — was available for rent. It all worked out from there, she said, adding that the move has been a whirlwind.
"We were trying to figure out when we would move in and I was like, 'Oh we'll get in there in the New Year,'" Dunlop said. "My husband was like, 'We can do this before the holidays.' So we did it. Our family rallied and got it together."
With 1,200 square feet to work with — four times the size of her last shop — Dunlop, a mom of three, said she always had a running list of things she wanted to bring in to her bookstore: More nonfiction, more seating areas, toys for the kid's section.
Now, she can.
"I was a young mom walking up and down downtown Granada — the library, getting coffee and spending my days with my little people right in this hub," Dunlop said. "I'm really excited for us to be another piece of that puzzle for families.
Visit fernandfablebooks.com.
