I’m standing in front of Saks fifth avenue located at the Bay Plaza Shopping Center in The Bronx. Last year this used to be the location of a Barnes and Noble. In January 2017 The Bronx’s only major bookstore, Barnes and Noble shut down. After the shutdown nearly 1.4 million people in the Bronx lost the only bookstore in the area. Although one Bronx resident is striving to open an independent bookstore, called The Lit Bar, in the borough.
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Noëlle Santos, a Bronx native and resident is the owner of The Lit Bar, a bookstore featuring local indie authors, a wine bar and a community center. The name has a double meaning.
“So it’s Lit like literature. And it’s also a play on the using of the word Lit that’s associated with drinking and having fun and partying. You know being Lit”, Santos says.
The Lit Bar will not only operate as a bookstore but as a center for residents of the community. It’ll be the only bookstore in the Bronx. Noelle hope this inspires others to open bookstores in the area.
As Noelle describes, “So we’re going to sell books, we’ll have wine, it’ll have events. Like I want it to be a living room for the community. So we’re going to stock women’s interest. You know, it’ll be a general interest bookstore. We’re going to specialize in women’s interest and local interests. Whether or not that might be at the time”. She continued, “I really want it to be a community space. I want events happening every day. I want to build relationships with other schools and support them however we can”.
Noelle aims to differentiate the Lit Bar from chain bookstores by giving a voice and platform to independent and underground artists. For Harlem resident and independent writer Alexis Garcia, this is an opportunity to showcase her work.
“As someone who is fond of wine and writing I would to have my work showcased at The Lit Bar. Having my work showcased there would not only mean exposure of my work to others but exposure of others work to me. She continued, “I also believe that it’s important for a community to experience this type of creativity. As a young Hispanic woman I would love to be a part of a platform where there are others like myself. Showing people that it’s okay to follow your dreams and let your voice be heard”.
Noelle’s fundraising campaign on Indiegogo called “Let’s Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to The Bronx”, raised over $150,000. The campaign’s success means The Lit Bar is one step closer to finding it’s home in The Bronx. Santos says there’s still work to be done and issues such as Real Estate have been an obstacle in her goal. Although this does not stop members of The Bronx community such as Brittany Holmes from looking forward from what’s to come with the lit bar.
“To have a place that represents our creativity and that helps nurtures the creativity of the people in The Bronx, I’m really happy about that. And I just can’t wait to see where it’s going to go. How many people are gonna benefit from having the support that they want like this for their talents”, states Brittany. “Having a place that brings so many people together it’s always the best thing to have in a community especially when it’s such a positive way of gathering people together. Like having this bookstore that has multi-different purposes. So I actually can’t wait for it to open so I can go there myself and be able to support my own community in that way”.
Noelle is currently in negotiations and working towards a lease and construction details. She is currently planning to open in January 2018.