Celebrating love in all forms, the owners of newly opened Cherry On Top Bookshop said they have a simple goal: to create a community space for romance readers and foster happiness.
Though the store has been a dream for co-owners Meredith Glover and Devon Beuret since the COVID-19 pandemic, its creation process happened in a blur, Beurut said. The lease was signed the first week of December 2025, keys were in hand on the first day of the new year and the pair had until Valentine’s Day weekend to prepare the shop, located at 119 E Mountain Ave., for its opening.
“With everything that’s going on in the world, we felt like we didn’t want to make decisions from a place of fear,” Beuret said. “We wanted to do something hopeful. We wanted an opportunity to find and cultivate joy.”
Cherry On Top Bookshop is the first of its kind in Fort Collins and one of the 172 physical romance bookshops in the United States, according to Romancing Data, a romance book analysis blog.
Beuret said a unique element of the store is its black and white portrait wall of “the most influential women of all time.” Including trailblazers like Stevie Nicks, Frida Kahlo and Michelle Obama, the wall stood out to visitors such as Mia von Minden, a student at the University of Colorado Boulder and a TikTok creator whose page is dedicated to her interests, including romance books.
“Everyone deserves to be able to see themselves on page because human beings are an inherently social species, and the idea of reading a book and thinking ‘I am not alone’ is an incredibly powerful thing.” –Amalie Howard, Colorado-based author
Success for the new store has also reached the podcast world; Kit, a host of the reading podcast, “Read, Eat, Travel, Repeat,” posted a review online discussing the atmosphere of the shop.
“For me, it was clear that the owners are just as passionate about romance books as their patrons are, and I personally love the way that when you walk in the door, you immediately feel like it was designed with romance readers in mind,” Kit said. “At the same time, the space feels very welcoming to everyone — the children’s, middle grade and young adult section sends a clear message that readers of all ages belong there.”
Though content creators like Kit and von Minden have posted about their experiences online, Beuret said that the shop hasn’t paid for any social media promotion.
“The readers are the ones who shared it, and the book clubs, and the group chats, and the girls nights and the hairdressers,” Beuret said. “Literally, somebody had come in and been like, ‘I was getting my haircut and my hairdresser told me about it.’ Somebody else came in yesterday and (said), ‘My chiropractor told me about it.’ So it’s all word of mouth.”
The store’s Instagram aims to continue the in-store community in an online space, said Rachel Talbot, a Portland-based freelance web and graphic designer who created the logo and runs the social media alongside Beuret. A reader herself, Talbot said when she was originally approached, the opportunity sounded like a dream project.
“I felt like … not only do I know their customers super well, but I am their customer,” Talbot said.
Since opening, the shop has gathered support from authors such as Amalie Howard, a USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-selling romance author who lives in Fort Collins.
“One of the most amazing things about the romance world is the sense of community we have,” Howard wrote in an email. “We love spaces that celebrate romance. … Spaces like these are beacons for connection, intellectual curiosity and discourse, and in an era where book bans and censorship are becoming more common, they’re needed more than ever.”
Howard said she offered to connect the shop with other romance authors and plans on hosting a signing for her newest book, out March 17.
While the store carries popular books such as “Heated Rivalry,” Cherry on Top Bookshop aims to showcase a diverse range of books, featuring Black, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ centered stories — something Howard said she took note of during her visit.
“Everyone deserves to be able to see themselves on page because human beings are an inherently social species, and the idea of reading a book and thinking ‘I am not alone’ is an incredibly powerful thing,” Howard said. “I love that Cherry On Top is all about that message, and that their love for books — all books — is evident the minute you walk through their doors.”
Though the shop has been open for just under a month, Glover and Beuret said they are already looking ahead and listening to what customers want.
The No. 1 request? Community events.
“People haven’t even left our house yet and they’re already like, ‘Can I come over again?’” Beuret said. “I think that that’s so amazing. … The one thing about romance readers is they also have a very cool online community, and they don’t really need to come and be in person together, but they do and they want to be together 24/7.”
Reach Chloe Rios at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
