9 Broadway, Troy, NY
I stumbled across this incredibly unique bookshop on my way to a company outing, which I was late for due to this place pulling me inside like it had a tractor beam. Downtown Troy had a new bookshop? Has it really been that long since I’d walked around Monument Square? Answer to both questions: YES. This place has been open for well over a year when I visited, and all I have to say about my discovery is: better late than never.
Yellow Lab is a big shop, at least a few rooms stretching back into one of the older buildings in downtown Troy, and the shop is steeped in vintage everything. It has plenty of books, yes, but also antique art, furniture, clothes, dishware, and all manner of distinctive knickknacks you can’t really find elsewhere. The shop had big paintings, chairs and trunks, a few typewriters set up for testing and buying, mirrors and a big wooden camel. And some of the books were truly vintage too, incredibly old copies of pulp paperbacks and hardcover first/early editions of books, some behind glass to protect them from casual browsing to retain their condition.
But most of the other books were out in the open and free for flipping through. The shop had a bit of everything: essays, art, fiction, history, design, picture books for kids, a “newest of the old” shelf for fresh books that just landed, self-help and business, espionage and fantasy, study guides and language books, memoirs and poetry, “art of the dwelling” and other unique sections explained with handwritten notes throughout all the rooms. There were many more genres and categories I didn’t get to explore since I was already late for a company event down the road, but I assure you, this place is worthy of exploration. If you are anywhere within range of the Capital Region of New York, put Yellow Lab on your list of bookshops to visit ASAP.
Atmosphere: A cavernous room replete with decorative lighting, tin ceiling tiles, and gorgeous panoramic artworks stretching along its walls of the Hudson River valley. It’s truly a sight to see. The shop is an eclectic mix of antiques and books, perfectly balanced between the two so that whichever you come for, you won’t be disappointed.
Quality: The books were almost all secondhand and the vast majority looked to be in really good shape. No real duds in sight, and I’ve seen shops in the past that had their fair share of books that had seen far better days. Not here, thankfully.
Quantity: The shop is almost half and half, so you’ll find a handful of shelves in each room. It’s not a massive trove but there’s still a lot to sift through.
Diversity: The shop covers a lot of ground, with a good variety of subjects and genres and handwritten signs indicating clever collections of books on certain shelves.
Affordability: The prices were fair and most paperbacks I saw were between $5 and $12, with rarer books and hardcovers going for more, obviously.
Amenities: It’s mostly books and antiques with a few places to sit, but be careful you’re not sitting on anything too fragile or for sale!
Customer Service: The shopkeeper I met was friendly and delightfully dressed as if I had stumbled across a magical bookshop down Diagon Alley.
Location: Located right in downtown Troy across from the Monument. A spectacular location for a bookshop.
Overall: It’s always special to find a bookstore that does something a little different in either its curation or presentation of its books, and this one is a memorable one for sure. With its wonderful array of antiques and excellent selection of hard-to-find used books, Yellow Lab is a bookshop deserving of attention, praise, and longevity!
