The Lit. Bar

The Lit. Bar is an independent bookstore and wine bar in Mott Haven, in the South Bronx borough of New York City. Founded and owned by Bronx native Noëlle Santos, it was created in response to the lack of full-service bookstores in the Bronx and became a community-focused retail and cultural venue centered on books, reading, and local identity. The store combines book sales with a wine-bar operation, a hybrid model intended to provide an additional revenue stream in an industry where independent bookstores typically face narrow margins and substantial operating risks. Santos began developing the concept after learning in 2014 that a Barnes & Noble location near Co-op City might close. At the time, that store was described as the Bronx's only bookstore, in contrast with the much larger number of bookstores in Manhattan. Santos grew up in the Soundview section of the Bronx and identifies as a Black Latina woman from the community. She had earned a bachelor's degree in business and accounting in 2009 and a master's degree in human resources management in 2012, both from Lehman College, but initially had no experience operating a bookstore. She built practical knowledge by taking an Owning a Bookstore course in 2015, registering the Lit. Bar brand, and volunteering in local bookshops. The venture gained early recognition through the 2016 New York StartUp! Business Plan Competition, where Santos won second place and received a $7,500 prize. She used the award to operate a temporary bookstore at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Later in 2016, she launched an Indiegogo campaign titled "Let's Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to the Bronx." The campaign used a video featuring Santos performing a rap poem and exceeded its $100,000 target; accounts cited in reference material place the total raised at approximately $170,000 to $200,000. The permanent store opened on April 27, 2019, deliberately coinciding with Independent Bookstore Day, an annual event associated with the American Booksellers Association. The opening ceremony included Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz, who recited lines from Santos's poem about the Bronx and independent bookselling. The approximately 1,700-square-foot venue was designed as both a bookstore and a wine bar, giving customers a place to browse books, purchase beverages, and participate in a more social form of literary retail. The Lit. Bar's selection emphasizes Black feminist writing and authors connected to the Bronx, while its broader role is that of a neighborhood cultural institution. Santos has described the store as a meeting place for longstanding South Bronx residents and newer residents arriving amid neighborhood change. She has also acknowledged the tension in locating a business within a gentrifying area: the store benefits from new foot traffic and investment but can also contribute to, and be threatened by, rising rents. In this respect, The Lit. Bar presents itself not simply as a retail brand, but as a community-oriented independent business linked to representation, access to books, and the cultural life of the Bronx.

The Lit. Bar emerged from Noëlle Santos's concern about the scarcity of bookstores in the Bronx. In 2014, Santos learned that a Barnes & Noble near Co-op City was expected to close. The store was characterized as the Bronx's only bookstore at the time, while Manhattan had many more. That contrast prompted Santos, a Bronx native who grew up in Soundview, to consider creating an independent bookstore for the borough. Santos's background was in business, accounting, and human resources rather than bookselling. She completed a bachelor's degree in business and accounting in 2009 and a master's degree in human resources management in 2012 at Lehman College. In 2015, she took a course on owning a bookstore, registered The Lit. Bar brand, and began volunteering at local bookshops to learn the practical aspects of inventory, customer service, and retail operations. She later entered the 2016 New York StartUp! Business Plan Competition, winning second place and receiving $7,500. That money supported a pop-up bookstore at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and allowed Santos to test the concept in a public cultural setting. At the end of 2016, Santos launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign called "Let's Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to the Bronx." The campaign exceeded its $100,000 goal and raised an amount reported in different accounts as approximately $170,000 or $200,000. Its promotional video featured Santos performing a rap poem she had written, giving the campaign a distinctive voice and tying the business directly to Bronx identity. The fundraising effort helped establish public support for the planned store and made Santos a visible advocate for independent bookselling in the borough. The permanent location opened in Mott Haven on April 27, 2019. The date was selected because it was Independent Bookstore Day, a celebration of independent bookstores held on the last Saturday of April. Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz attended the opening ceremony and recited lines from Santos's poem. The venue occupies approximately 1,700 square feet and combines a bookstore with a wine bar. The bar component was a deliberate business choice: beverage sales can offer higher margins than books and help offset the financial pressures associated with independent retail bookselling. The store's identity is closely connected to the South Bronx. Its collection features Black feminist authors and writers from the Bronx and surrounding local communities. Santos has framed the space as a potential point of contact between established South Bronx residents and newer residents drawn to the neighborhood. At the same time, she has openly discussed the complications of gentrification. The store benefits from the investment and customer traffic associated with neighborhood change, but rising rents can threaten independent businesses and alter the community they serve. Santos has characterized gentrification as a wider national problem and acknowledged that, although The Lit. Bar may encourage some of the area's transformation, the process began before the store opened. By the mid-2020s, The Lit. Bar had become a highly visible example of the bookstore-and-bar format. Its significance rests on several overlapping roles: independent retailer, wine-bar business, literary gathering place, and Bronx cultural institution. Rather than positioning itself solely as a conventional bookseller, it uses curation, place, representation, and hospitality to make book buying part of a broader neighborhood experience.

• 2025

  Recognized as a leading book-bar example

  [1]The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org

  The store was described in reference material as possibly the best-known example of the bookstore-and-bar hybrid.

• 2019

  Permanent store opens

  [1]The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org

  The Lit. Bar opened in Mott Haven on April 27, 2019, operating as a bookstore and wine bar.

• 2016

  Business-plan competition and pop-up store

  [1]The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org

  Santos placed second in the New York StartUp! Business Plan Competition and used the $7,500 prize to fund a pop-up bookstore at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

• 2016

  Crowdfunding campaign exceeds its target

  [1]The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org

  The Indiegogo campaign "Let's Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to the Bronx" surpassed its $100,000 goal, with reported proceeds ranging from approximately $170,000 to $200,000.

• 2015

  Bookstore training and brand registration

  [1]The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org

  Santos took an Owning a Bookstore course, registered The Lit. Bar brand, and gained hands-on experience by volunteering in local bookshops.

• 2014

  Santos develops the bookstore idea

  [1]The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org

  After learning that a Barnes & Noble near Co-op City might close, Noëlle Santos began considering a bookstore for the Bronx, where bookstore access was comparatively limited.

A community-centered independent bookstore and wine bar that expands literary access in the Bronx while highlighting Black feminist, local, and culturally relevant authors.

• Book retail · 2019

  Books

  The Lit. Bar's core retail offering is a curated selection of new books. Its identity places particular emphasis on Black feminist writing and authors from the Bronx or connected to local communities. The collection supports the store's broader role as a literary and cultural destination rather than functioning only as a general bookstore.

• Beverage service · 2019

  Wine bar

  The wine bar is integrated into the bookstore's physical and commercial model. It gives visitors a hospitality experience alongside book browsing and provides a higher-margin revenue stream intended to help balance the economic risks of independent bookselling. The combination is central to The Lit. Bar's distinctive positioning as a book-bar hybrid.

• 2016Let's Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to the Bronx

  United States

  Noëlle Santos used Indiegogo to raise community support and funding for a permanent Bronx bookstore. The campaign's video featured Santos performing a rap poem she wrote, and the campaign exceeded its $100,000 target.

  Outcome. Reported proceeds ranged from approximately $170,000 to $200,000, helping advance the project toward the permanent store.

  Source

• 2019

  Adopt a bookstore-and-wine-bar formatStrategy

  Background

  Independent bookstores face financial pressure and generally operate with narrower margins than many hospitality businesses.

  Action taken

  The Lit. Bar combined book retail with a wine bar in its permanent Mott Haven location.

  Aftermath

  The format became a defining feature of the brand and contributed to its recognition as a prominent book-bar hybrid.

  Source

• 2019

  Locate the store in the South BronxStrategy

  Background

  Santos wanted to address the Bronx's limited bookstore access while operating in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification and commercial change.

  Action taken

  The permanent store opened in Mott Haven and was positioned as a place where existing South Bronx residents and newer residents could interact.

  Aftermath

  The location strengthened the store's community and cultural identity, while also placing it within debates about rising rents and neighborhood displacement.

  Source

1. 1The Lit. Baren.wikipedia.org