Lavender Cafe & Bookstore, an LGBTQ-focused bookstore, launched last month as an online and pop-up store in advance of opening a bricks-and-mortar location in New Orleans, La., Verite News reported.
Owner Kyle DeVries began by launching an online donation drive for Lavender Cafe that has so far raised $5,555. Money raised by the drive will go toward inventory, merchandise, mobile equipment for the pop-up, and other expenses. DeVries will take the pop-up throughout New Orleans, carrying a selection of books and other merchandise made by LGBTQ authors and artists, while looking for a suitable space for the bricks-and-mortar location.
They want the bookstore and cafe to be a "true third space for both LGBTQ people in New Orleans as well as kind of all people who find themselves as others in general," DeVries told Verite News.
DeVries has been inspired by LGBTQIA2S+ bookstores in other cities like Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia, Pa., A Different Light in San Francisco, Calif., and Lambda Rising in Washington, D.C., as well as indies in New Orleans like Baldwin & Co. They noted that given the current political and social climate, it felt necessary to create Lavender Cafe.
"Right now, there's a lot of censorship efforts around books and specifically LGBTQ culture and history," DeVries explained. "People are trying to actively erase our communities and histories. And so we really need more bookstores that are going to be able to champion those stories right now."
This Saturday, DeVries will host a kickoff cabaret for Lavender Cafe at Allways Lounge featuring drag performances and more.
