By Brian Rivera
The Bronx has been without a bookstore for nearly two years. Coming to the rescue is Noelle Santos, a South Bronx native and Lehman College alumnus who is in the process of opening The Lit Bar.
The name poses as a double entendre of the words “literature” and the term “lit,” which is commonly used in modern slang. Fusing the two into a clever and attention-grabbing name, Noelle plans to open the bookstore and wine bar at 131 Alexander Avenue in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx.
Santos says that construction is wrapping and she plans to open early this fall. On her Instagram story, Santos shares photos of her sliding ladders attached to empty bookshelves still in the pre-opening status.
Noelle approaches her goal as a proud Bronx native. She makes it known that it is cool to be from the Bronx and have swagger but it’s just as cool to be intelligent and be a lover of books. With The Lit Bar, she hopes to attract others in the community, and even from our neighboring boroughs, to help inspire and draw in a some of the younger crowd. She plans to promote local authors and artists and to provide a platform for the people of the Bronx.
Noelle first took action in 2016 when she heard rumors of the Co-op City Barnes and Noble closing its doors. She won second place out of 360 applicants in the New York Public Library/ Citi Foundation New York Start UP business plan competition and raised $154,546 on Indiegogo, exceeding her goal of $100,000.
No comments