A short walk off the campus of the College of William and Mary, tucked away in Colonial Williamsburg down an unassuming brick staircase under the Kilwins Chocolate, Fudge, and Ice Cream Shop, is a long-vacant storefront that has just reopened for a new business: The Fallen Acorn Bookshop. The new bookstore opened Sept. 18, and according to owner Shea Cintron, is proud to be the only independently owned seller of new books in the Williamsburg area.
Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, Cintron previously worked as a midwife and owned a birth center and home birth practice. She and her family relocated to Williamsburg in 2020 when her daughter, stationed at nearby Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, had her first child. Although originally intending to open another birth center in Virginia, Cintron instead made a long-term dream of hers a reality.
“I had a midwife partner, and her and I, when we retired — we’re both readers — we always made jokes that we were going to open a bookstore, and they’re not going to wake us up at night when we’re tired and grumpy,” Cintron said.
The Fallen Acorn’s location previously housed Mermaid Books, another local bookstore which closed its doors in 2020. The space, located on Prince George Street alongside quintessential Williamsburg staples such as Aromas and The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg, remained available for lease until Cintron expressed interest earlier this year. Cintron commented on her experience operating in this unique location.
“Some people walk down like, ‘We were intrigued that there’s these stairs, we weren’t sure what we were going to open the door to,’” Cintron said. “Other people know Mermaid Books, and it’s funny, those people, I’m getting mixed reactions from them. Some people want it to be Mermaid and it’s not. It’s very different.”
Such differences include the store’s stock: Mermaid Books offered a selection of used books, while The Fallen Acorn instead works to sell new ones. Cintron also described the comprehensive physical renovations the space underwent in the process of opening her business, which included ripping out large, old book-holding cubbies, replacing asbestos floors with tile and adding an AC system.
Shoppers at The Fallen Acorn now open its lower-level door to teal-painted walls and bookshelves and black-and-white patterned floors. Behind the wooden checkout counter is a painted mural featuring leaves, acorns and the shop’s name. This name draws inspiration from Miriam Young’s “Miss Suzy,” a picture book from Cintron’s childhood that follows a squirrel and features acorn illustrations.
Cintron is a mother of five, and her husband is the owner of a landscaping business. So far, the shop has mainly been run by herself, along with her family and her son’s girlfriend. Regardless, Cintron described the comparatively lower stress of running this business in light of her previous career.
“You’re 24/7 when you’re taking care of pregnant women and babies, and then you’re up sometimes two or three times in a row at night,” Cintron said. “So, this is chill, I’ve got this.”
Nonetheless, learning the unique skill set of bookselling was daunting for Cintron, and it involved plenty of research and online courses on bookstore operation. She specifically noted the risk associated with the high cost of buying books from suppliers, coupled with uncertainty as to which volumes will sell, as an intimidating challenge.
“That wasn’t something I’ve ever done except buy books for myself,” Cintron said. “Buying for other people is very different, and then going into genres that I might not necessarily read and hoping people want to read what I picked, there’s a learning curve in that.”
To connect with the Williamsburg community, Cintron has prioritized spotlighting local authors such as Sara Raasch, who signed copies of her books at the shop, which now are featured in a dedicated display. Cintron hopes to host live author events in the future, as well as form book clubs to expand the store’s community.
Meanwhile, Williamsburg’s small-town environment and other local businesses have already begun to embrace The Fallen Acorn. Cintron described a regular customer who works at the nearby Merchants Square Wine Bar expressing her love for the store and encouraging patrons to stop by. She named this as one of her favorite enthusiastic customer interactions.
“You can really see real readers when they come in, because they’re just really excited, and they stay, and they talk and they want to talk to me about books,” Cintron said.
Along with word of mouth, foot traffic brings many customers into The Fallen Acorn. Sofia Valle ’25 came upon the shop incidentally through a sign posted outside Kilwins, which she observed a few times before her curiosity got the best of her.
“I’ve seen the sign to come downstairs and I was like, ‘Okay, the stairs seem intimidating,’” Valle said. “I couldn’t imagine there’s such a quaint little corner in here. It’s lovely.”
Catherine Kauffman, a Virginia Beach resident, was visiting Williamsburg with family when she was likewise drawn down the stairs by her love for bookstores. Kauffman browsed the mystery section and had picked out a copy of “The Scarlet Letter.”
“I like the little sections of the creepy stuff and the classics,” Kauffman said. “Having different versions of the classics in pretty covers is nice.”
Kauffman and Valle both praised the cute, quaint atmosphere of the shop. Valle did note the limitations associated with the store’s small size, however, specifically expressing her desire for a larger classics section.
“It is a little limited in its variety, but I really appreciate that they make an effort to display beautiful books. It is something that attracts people in, very clearly,” Valle said.
As a student at the College with easy access to the location, Valle said she could see herself stopping by more often in the future.
“I think that it is an incredible escape from campus, something completely different from the experience that Swem provides,” Valle said.
With the unique demographics of Williamsburg, given Williamsburg’s role as both a college town and a tourist destination, The Fallen Acorn indeed sees a wide range of customers. Cintron observed the shop is busier with tourists on weekends, while it sees more students and locals on weekdays. Ultimately, Cintron hopes to welcome all potential clientele and learn to adapt to customer interests as she goes.
“I hope to build a community of readers — because readers are my people — and a place that people feel safe and people see themselves seen in the characters and the writers,” Cintron said.
The Fallen Acorn is open six days a week, being closed on Monday. It is open on Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Interested readers can trek down the stairs at 421 Prince George Street or shop online at https://www.fallenacornbooks.com/.