A Day At The River’s End Bookstore

Hello! This story is a feature piece that I wrote about the River's End Bookstore in Oswego, New York. I chose the River's End Bookstore to write about because River's End is a family-owned business and the only bookstore in the town of Oswego. Since I am a huge book reader and since I love supporting small businesses, I wanted to spread awareness about this bookstore.

After a vehicle accident caused serious damage to the property, The River’s Bookstore is slowly going back to full strength.

From fiction to nonfiction, children to young adults, and classics to history, The River’s End Bookstore is home to a variety of books, bookmarks, and pins. 

The River’s End Bookstore, located at 19 W. Bridge St., is a family-owned business. As the name suggests, The River’s End Bookstore is located near the Oswego River in the heart of the city.

Walking into The River’s End Bookstore feels like walking into a bookstore in a Hallmark movie. The environment and atmosphere are inviting from the beginning. From great customer service and great layout, this bookstore is great for book readers everywhere.

A row of tables on one side of the window-covered walls offered a nice view of the sidewalk and surrounding buildings. Above one of the tables is a framed collage of pictures of the owners posing with guests and authors.

In the middle of the building was a replica of the bookstore, which also acts as a small alcove for children to read and play in while their parents browse or read at one of the tables. The inside is painted with different characters and designs.

Like most bookstores, the layout is organized by genre, with a dedicated section for children’s books. There is also a “staff picks” section, where employees write notes explaining why they recommend certain titles. 

“Unearthed is a deeply moving, and breathtaking book that earns the distinction of ‘required reading’,” wrote Claire, an employee at River’s End, about the book, Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust.

“I could relate to the things she felt regarding her state of mind and found it an extremely interesting read,” wrote Savanah, another employee, about the book, Rabbits for Food.

Additionally, the bookstore offers a section of discounted books, with many titles available at 50% off the original price.

River’s End tries to collaborate with local authors at least once a month. On the shelf near the entrance displays information about the most recent collab. For the month of November, they are hosting Mike McCrobie, the author of the novel “Sneakers Only.”

Emil Christmann, the son of the bookstore's owners Bill Reilly and Mindy Ostrow, now owns the store with his wife, Megan Irland, after his parents retired.

“My mother and my stepfather, they started it [the bookstore] in 1998,” Chistmann said. “And they were considering either doing this or opening a bed and breakfast. And they saw the bookstore as like a greater need to the community.” 

Before River’s End opened, there wasn’t a bookstore located in Oswego. Reilly and Ostrow decided it would be most beneficial for everyone to open a bookstore.

Christmann explains that since they have been open for almost 30 years, they feel as though they’ve made a positive impact on the community. “A lot of people, they tell us as much,” said Christmann. “They say often they love having us here. We’ve had some customers who have been with us since the beginning.”

According to Christmann, his parents had difficulty finding a location for the bookstore. They wanted to be in the center of the town, but there weren’t any buildings available. But they didn’t give up, so they continued to look around.

“There was a clothing store here at the time,” Christmann said. “And someone said to them, ‘Just go ahead and ask, you never know. See where they’re at.’ And it turns out, they [the clothing store] were thinking about closing up shop.,” They have been at this location ever since.

Christmann explains that his favorite part of owning a bookstore is being involved with the community. He says it’s great to have the opportunity to be in town every day and talk with the locals.

The bookstore has not always been this peaceful. On Jan. 21, 2024, Mark Kahler ran into River’s End with his car at around 8 p.m. causing extensive damage to both the external and internal to the bookstore.

When Chistmann and his family got the call, they had just finished dinner. “I’m thinking, you know, this isn’t great, but I’ll go down there and see what it looks like,” Christmann recalled. “I grabbed a few supplies from the house but then we got here and saw how bad it was.”

According to Christmann, they didn’t have to close the store for too long. They managed to clean up most of the damage in a few days. Their insurance covered most of the cost of repairing the damage.

However, Christmann talks about how the repairs are still a work in progress. He mentioned in an email how busy they have been the last week because they are preparing to install a new carpet. 

Due to these repairs, the bookstore will be closed from Nov. 11-17, 2024, for the replacement. Both the website and the front door of the store feature information on how to place orders and contact details for additional information.

“It’s been stressful here and there because I think about how much time and energy we spent dealing with the fallout,” Christmann said. “This is November, and this [the crash] happened in January, so this has been ongoing. It’s been a year’s worth of dealing with it.” 

Christmann said that they are trying to handle this the best they can and are trying to maintain a positive attitude about the situation.

“We were not thrilled, but I think we handled it pretty well. We took it with stride,” said Chistmann. 

Despite the accident, the store looks in good shape- like it was never crashed into. And though they are getting their carpets replaced, the carpets look in good shape.

To compete with popular bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Amazon’s Kindle, the River’s End Bookstore allows readers to order books on its website. Books can be delivered to the reader’s house or to the store for pickup.

Readers can also place orders online for books that are in stock in the store. This method reserves the book, allowing the reader to pick it up or have it delivered.

According to Christmann, the most sought-after books are ones about the history of Oswego. These historical books are read by locals and visitors alike.

Christmann's favorite book is The Martian Chronicles. He explained he enjoys rereading this story, stating that he likes the message behind the book. If humans cannot fix the problems we have on Earth, how is that going to change if we migrate to Mars.