The Lit. Bar
In 2014, Noëlle Santos, an African-American and Puerto Rican Bronx native, was among many who protested the removal of the only bookstore in the Bronx, Barnes & Noble. Santos was perplexed at the fact that, even though the bookstore’s lease was extended until 2016, that would still mean that the Bronx only had one bookstore. So, she created a plan to start her own bookstore and her love for reading and community guided her entrepreneurial journey over the next few years.
The Lit. Bar officially opened on April 27, 2019 (National Indie Bookstore Day) and is situated in Mott Haven, Bronx, lined with a wine bar and curated with an expansive venue of books for Bronx residents. Its graffiti and chandelier aesthetics envelops the atmosphere, a community-building site for residents, as the borough’s only indie bookstore. Outside of the bookstore, “Reach the World, but Touch the Hood First” is written in graffiti, along with a young, Black girl, establishing a prioritization of the community, first and foremost.
The blatant disregard for the Bronx and their need for spaces such as this one was tackled by Santos and her business. In its opening week, the store’s contents were almost completely bought out, confirming Santos’ initiative and motivation for beginning this journey in the first place: the Bronx and its desire for literature were being ignored, and a community bookstore was needed.
In a neighborhood touched by the growing hands of gentrification, The Lit. Bar reaffirmed the needs of the community before the wants of gentrifiers moved in. However, Santos has received local backlash for “fueling” gentrification. Still, her dedication to her community and the local residents of the Bronx offers an opportunity for local community togetherness, as crowdfunding, local book donations, and community mural decorations have highly contributed to the bookstore’s success.
Santos feels as her bookstore should not be the only beacon of light for book lovers in the Bronx, and that other models of community and literature accessibility should be sustained in the borough. She states, “We need a used bookstore. We need a children’s bookstore. We need a lending library. We need to support the libraries we already have. There’s room for so many more models.” However, it is important to credit Santos, as she and her unrelenting collaboration with her community serve as a critical model for future endeavors that will hopefully provide local communities with more access to literature, community, (and drinks).
Sources
Giannotta, Meghan. “The Lit. Bar, the Bronx’s Only General Interest Bookstore, Can ‘empower’ the Borough, Owner Says .” amNewYork, 10 May 2019, www.amny.com/entertainment/things-to-do/the-lit-bar-bronx-1-30897177/.
Hobbs, Ashley J. “Survival of the Lit-Est: Business Owner Noëlle Santos Is Not Backing Down.” Essence, 4 Nov. 2020, www.essence.com/news/money-career/noelle-santos-the-lit-bar-bookstore/.
http://www.thelitbar.com/