Photo courtesy of Niche Book Bar
Niche Book Bar - Exterior
Niche Book Bar
Enjoying some coffee, tea, or wine with a good book is the premise of Niche Book Bar, located at 1937 N. Dr Martin Luther King Jr Drive in Historic Bronzeville. Freshly opened, the bookstore specializes in literature by Black authors or that features Black main characters, carrying materials of all different genres and for all different ages. What started as a book pop-up and then mobile “book bike” during COVID times is now owner Cetonia Weston’s dream come true—a brick-and-mortar third space celebrating Black literature of all kinds within a cozy environment to hang out.
Niche Book Bar has something for everyone, with its inventory encompassing young adult fiction, historical nonfiction, banned books, LGBTQ+, mystery and horror, children’s books and more. In addition to being a bookseller, Niche Book Bar is a venue for events like poetry and short story open mics, author talks and vendor markets, as well as the monthly Well-Red Book Club. The store features a couch, a larger seating area, and the titular bar with available beverage options, including locally roasted Style Pop coffee.
Originally from Racine, Weston grew up reading anything she got her hands on, whether it was the dictionary or the Bible or her stepfather’s law books. “I didn’t have to understand it; I would just read all the time,” she laughs. “If it was around, I was going to try it.”
Reading for Pleasure
Weston moved to Milwaukee from Racine in 2017. Around this time, Weston began reading more for pleasure. She had just finished school, and her son was no longer an infant. “I wanted someone to have a place where you could read and have a glass of wine,” she recalls.
Over the next two years, Weston’s idea of someone else doing it became that she herself could do it.
While working at Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Weston spoke with someone who was upset that so many Black bookstores were closing. “I remember really latching onto that,” she continues. “That was something she was looking for, and to hear that while already having it in the back of my head was a bit of a firestarter.”
Many Black Stories
Photo courtesy of Niche Book Bar
Cetonia Weston - Niche Book Bar
Cetonia Weston at a pop-up book fair
Weston reached out to local Black authors and shared with them her idea for a book bar. At the same time, she organized pop-ups throughout the city, gathering data on who was buying which kinds of books.
“The data showed me that this is something people want, and it made me feel more comfortable,” Weston affirms. “A lot of people wanted to get back into reading, and a lot of people were having a hard time finding books for their kids.”
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In 2020, Weston self-published her first children’s book The Misadventures of Toni Macaroni in the Mad Scientist. Shortly after branding her pop-ups as Niche Book Bar, the pandemic hit, so Weston pivoted and invested in the ‘book bike’ to sell books COVID-safe style. Her goal was still to eventually have a brick-and-mortar space, so Weston launched an online store in the meantime, ensuring that Black stories of all experiences were visible.
“This was the year of racial reckoning that wasn’t, as I like to call it,” Weston remembers, referring to 2020. “People weren’t suddenly trying to push Black books before that. In my experience until then, unless it was maybe Black History Month, it was usually the same books you would see out.
“It would be struggle-love fiction, trauma of history and trauma of the current—and those are important—but if that’s all you’re ever exposed to that reflects yourself, then maybe reading doesn’t sound so fun.”
New books arrive every week. A few of the store’s latest acquisitions include The Rules of Fortune by Danielle Prescod, Who I Always Was by Theresa Okokon, The Last Seven Days by Tamiko R. Evans, Ms. V’s Hot Girl Summer by A.H. Cunningham and The Complexities of Equity by Dr. Latish Reed. In addition to books, merchandise such as tasting glasses, totes, and tarot cards are for sale.
“We’ve got a few more romance novels in,” Weston mentions. “I’m not a romance reader myself, but to see that people are really on the romance train right now, that’s going to be growing with more overtime.”
Niche Book Bar had its soft opening this past winter, followed by its grand opening on April 26. Their hours are Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from noon to 7 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., while closed Sunday through Tuesday. Follow Niche Book Bar on Instagram @nichebookbarllc for updates.
