 |
|
| L'Oreal Thompson Payton | |
Zora's Place, a Black feminist bookstore and community hub, opened Saturday in Evanston, Ill., the Evanston RoundTable reported.
Named for Zora Neale Hurston, the bookstore is one of several local businesses residing in the AUX, a Black-owned wellness collective and business hub. It sells fiction and nonfiction with an emphasis on Black women authors, artists, and entrepreneurs. In addition to books, Zora's Place carries journals, soaps, and other items made by Black-owned businesses, and owner L'Oreal Thompson Payton plans to host storytime sessions, author talks, open mic nights, book clubs, and other events.
"I saw the space, and it was literally love at first sight," Thompson Payton told the Evanston RoundTable. "I was like, 'this is where it needs to be.' I saw everything immediately--the furniture, the orange sofa, the bookshelves and, more than that, just this community space."
Earlier this spring, Thompson Payton launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her open the store that raised more than $11,000. She said at the time that owning a bookstore had been a retirement dream for her, but after visiting Café con Libros in Brooklyn, N.Y., and seeing Call & Response Books open in Chicago, Ill., she was inspired to open her own store in Evanston.