The idea for an independent bookstore had been brewing for six years, but it had been a dream deferred for L’Oreal Thompson Payton until this past June, when the vision instantly materialized as the barn-style doors slid open at 2223 Washington St.
As Payton surveyed the 700-square-foot empty retail space, she pictured bookshelves featuring Black women authors and a children’s corner with activities and books where Black and brown kids could see themselves reflected in the pages. Anchoring the room: a burnt orange sofa and a mural incorporating lime greens and mustard yellows. In that moment, Payton knew she had found the right place and time to open her woman-owned bookshop, Zora’s Place.
The bookstore is “rooted in diversity and equity, which is under attack” by the Trump administration’s recent policies targeting diversity, equity and inclusion, said Payton, of Evanston, a city she describes as progressive and liberal. “This is a safe place for me to act out this dream and see it through to fruition.”
On Saturday, Zora’s Place celebrates its grand opening at The Aux Wellness Collective to become Evanston’s first Black feminist bookstore, according to the Evanston History Center. The store centers Black women and their stories through books and community and will be an inclusive gathering place hosting family storytimes, author talks and other events.
“I definitely see this being an intergenerational space where everyone — from the babies to Grandma — can come and curl up with a good book,” Payton said. “You walk in and know that you’re buying or supporting a Black writer, entrepreneur or creative artist.”
A writer and author of “Stop Waiting for Perfect,” Payton named the bookstore after Harlem Renaissance icon Zora Neale Hurston, whose novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” is her all-time favorite. Besides fiction, customers perusing shelves can expect nonfiction, memoir, poetry, self-help and wellness, spirituality and children’s books. Plus, the store sells classics by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde.
As a bookstore owner, Payton said she wants to pay homage to her literary foremothers and uplift Black feminism.
Payton, 37, long mused about opening a bookstore. Maybe in retirement, she thought. That changed in June 2019 after traveling to New York for a weekend reading retreat with friends. She visited indie bookstores in Brooklyn, including Cafe con Libros, which inspired her shop’s feminist focus.
After returning home, Payton paused her aspiration as life unfolded: She became a mom, published author, certified yoga instructor and poured herself into her journalism career. She had been interviewing for full-time jobs and fielding rejections when she met with The Aux’s owner, Tiffini Holmes, on June 6 about teaching yoga at the community hub of Black entrepreneurs. During their conversation, Payton shared her business idea.
“Her eyes lit up,” Holmes recalled.
Ekemini Gerdel, of Chicago, shops before attending a book signing at Zora’s Place. Besides fiction, customers perusing shelves can expect nonfiction, memoir, poetry, self-help and wellness, spirituality and children’s books. Plus, the store sells classics by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde.
Timothy Hiatt/For the Sun-Times
From there, everything moved quickly. Payton sent a business proposal that afternoon, pushed through self-doubt to launch a crowdfunding campaign weeks later and hosted an open house and storytime the next month.
Zora’s Place brings empowerment to the community, Holmes said.
“It amplifies the voice of Black people in a time when you see more and more Black books being put on a banned book list and our history being erased or told incorrectly,” she said. “It creates an opportunity to tell our truth.”
Holmes has also offered mentorship and support so businesses like Payton’s can get started and sustain over time. Together, they’ve agreed to a unique lease arrangement where Payton provides pro bono yoga classes and is events manager at the collective. In exchange, she receives a break on the first three months and pays half the $1,500 monthly rent the next three months before the space leases at its full amount, according to Holmes.
So far, 160 donations have helped Zora’s Place reach 45% of its $25,000 goal and transform from an online shop to a physical store.
More than $1,600 went toward book orders for inventory, according to Payton. Contributions also covered leased space, business registration, children’s furniture, and other furnishings and decor, as well as journals, planners and gifts carried in store. In prioritizing Black woman-owned businesses, she has ordered from shops in Chicago, Evanston and Skokie.
“People have definitely come through,” said Payton, who also leaned on advice from fellow booksellers, including founders and owners Courtney Bledsoe of Call & Response Books in Hyde Park and Jordan Felkey of Three Avenues Bookshop in Lake View. “I wouldn’t have gotten this far without them,” she said.
There are plans for a custom mural, but additional funding is needed to commission the artwork. Janel Young, the Chicago-based artist and muralist tapped for the project, visualizes a piece incorporating bold oranges, teals and deep jewel tones with African Adinkra symbols, which tell stories through geographic shapes and patterns. She hopes her mural will represent community, wellness, sisterhood and a sense of place where Black women, specifically, can relax. And that it “inspires people to feel more liberated by reading and literature” and empowered, she said.
Throughout this journey, Payton has relied on a trusted team: family. Husband Jeff is director of operations, assembling bookcases and other furniture. Daughter Violet, 3, embraces her junior bookseller and assistant store manager roles, showing off her favorite children’s book, “Hair Love ABCs,” at customer request.
Following a recent soft opening, Zora’s Place is ready to officially unveil chapter one of its story: as a pop-up shop at The Aux for at least six months. After that, she may stay longer or relocate. Payton has “thoughtfully and intentionally” curated more than 150 books that are either by Black women, Black men who are feminists or gender-expansive authors who amplify underrepresented voices.
“I have had to literally live out the title of my book: Stop waiting for perfect,” Payton acknowledged, to create a sanctuary of self-care and storytelling that values the power of literature, reading and being informed. More than a bookstore, she said: “Zora’s Place is really my love letter to the community — for Black women, Black and brown children, Evanston and anyone who wants to feel safe being their full, authentic self.”