This bookstore quickly earned a reputation as one of the most vibrant examples of combining a bookstore and a wine bar. Here, the shelves are filled with both books and bottles of wine, creating a unique atmosphere. The Lit. Bar regularly hosts literary evenings, poetry readings, book launches, and special programs for children and youth, making it a true cultural center for the community. Read on bronx1.one to learn more about the history of this unusual space.
About the Founder
Noelle Santos, who proudly calls herself a “Black Latina from the community,” grew up in the Soundview neighborhood, where a love for books became both a refuge and a challenge for her.
Even in her school years, Noelle would skip classes not for dates but for her favorite place—Barnes & Noble. There, with a mocha frappuccino in hand, she and her friend would dive into the world of literature. Her friend read young adult novels, while Noelle sought out gritty urban prose that felt more like the reality of her neighborhood than school classics. Noelle’s first “great love” was Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Her mother gave her the 700-page novel as a punishment for misbehaving, but it turned into a gift. In the little protagonist, Francie Nolan, Noelle saw her own childhood and learned to appreciate life.
College years cut into her reading time. Noelle earned a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting in 2009, and later a master’s in Human Resource Management from Lehman College in 2012. But then something happened that brought Noelle Santos back to the magical world of books.
Big Goal + Perseverance = Success
The story of The Lit. Bar began with a loss. In 2014, Noelle Santos learned that the only full-service bookstore in the Bronx, Barnes & Noble, was closing. For a borough with over a million and a half residents, this was a real blow. While Manhattan had dozens of bookstores, the Bronx remained a literary desert.
“I just Googled—how to open a bookstore,” Noelle recalls.
But the forecasts she saw about the industry’s future looked depressing: competition with Amazon, the rise of e-books, and low profitability. That’s when the idea was born to combine the bookstore with a wine bar, transforming it into a vibrant social space where books are a catalyst for conversation and a glass of wine is a tool for making new connections.
Initially, Noelle wanted to call her project “Book Bar,” but she found that such a bookstore already existed in Denver. Instead of being discouraged, this marked the beginning of a new phase. Noelle directly called the Denver owner, Nicole Sullivan, and unexpectedly received mentorship and support.
The path to realizing the idea was long. In 2016, Santos entered a business plan competition among 358 New York startups and won second place. She spent the $7,500 prize money on pop-up shops: wooden crates, folding tables, and her first stack of books.
Her bookstore-on-wheels appeared at the Bronx Museum of Artsand other venues, gathering her future reading community.
But the real breakthrough was the Indiegogo campaign titled “Let’s Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to the Bronx.” In the video presentation, Noelle performed her own rap verse, blending hip-hop, humor, and sincerity. This gesture showed that she wouldn’t hide her identity, even in business negotiations. The campaign exceeded all expectations, raising over $170,000—nearly double the goal.
Construction became the next test. From April to November 2017, the young woman went through a real construction hell. But at the same time, Noelle received incredible community support. Women from a local mentorship group helped with cleaning and repairs, and the owner of the bar “Rosa” taught her how to fill out the paperwork to get a liquor license without the help of lawyers.
The Day the Bronx Got Its Own Book Bar
On April 27, 2019, something more than just a store opening took place in the South Bronx. It was a celebration of revival, a symbol of the community’s victory over stereotypes, and the feeling that the Bronx’s cultural desert was finally sprouting new growth.
At the opening ceremony, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz stood beside Noelle Santos. He quoted a few lines from the owner’s own poem, which resonated with the crowd:
“The Bronx is no longer burning, except with the desire to read.
We thrive, as do the independent booksellers,
who they told you were dead.
But the numbers don’t lie.”
The opening date was symbolically chosen—it was the same day the entire country celebrated Independent Bookstore Day.
The 1,700 sq. ft. (160 m²) space of The Lit. Bar combined a bookstore and a wine bar. The latter became not only a nice bonus for visitors but also a financial “cushion” that helped withstand the challenges independent booksellers face. It’s no wonder The New York Times called it “perhaps the most famous bookstore-bar hybrid in the U.S.” in 2025.
But a real surprise awaited Noelle behind the scenes. The day before the opening, she was told not to give interviews to avoid unnecessary media pressure. Then, the phone rang. Saleswoman Ashley picked up and heard a familiar voice:
“This is Sarah Jessica Parker. I swear I’m real.”
Ashley, flustered, turned on the speakerphone. Indeed, the Sex and the City star herself was calling to congratulate Noelle on the opening. She said she wanted to visit in person and even asked permission before sharing photos of the store on Instagram with her millions of followers.
A few days later, the star not only posted about The Lit. Bar, generating a wave of interest, but also sent a box of her favorite books, including the novel The Old Drift. The books sold out instantly.
From that moment on, The Lit. Bar was talked about far beyond the Bronx. But for Noelle, something else was more important than the celebrity attention. A place had appeared in her home borough where books and a glass of wine became a reason for people to meet, connect, and feel worthy of their own cultural space.
More Than Just Business
The bookstore’s shelves tell the story of the founder’s ideas. She created separate thematic sections: “Black Women and Feminism,” “Hip-Hop is Poetry Too,” and placed Shakespeare, Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez, and Sandra Cisneros side-by-side among the classics. Books about African-American and Latin American culture are prominent in the displays, and in the children’s section, every cover reflects diversity—children of different skin colors see themselves in the book’s heroes.
Near the checkout, guests are greeted by a mural: a dark-skinned girl with a book, her curls lifting high, and gold earrings shining in the light. This is a symbol of dreams, knowledge, and pride in one’s own culture.
Since the opening of The Lit. Bar, Noelle Santos has repeatedly heard criticism that the bookstore contributes to the gentrification of the neighborhood. She doesn’t deny it: new residents do want to live near the bookstore, which allows landlords to raise prices. But Santos emphasizes that the gentrification process began long before the store opened.
Despite the controversies, the bookstore quickly became a magnet for well-known figures. Guests at The Lit. Bar have included Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, Fat Joe, Slick Rick, Omarion, Alfre Woodard, Amanda Seales, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Kerry Washington.
The Lit. Bar also received official recognition. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson called the store’s 2019 opening a “return of literary life” after the closing of Barnes & Noble.
Noelle Santos’s example inspired others. In 2022, the Edokia bookstore opened in Mott Haven, and since October 2023, the Bronx Bound Books kiosk, which started as a mobile “bookmobile,” has been operating in Bay Plaza.
Santos emphasizes that even three bookstores for two million residents is miserably low. But the trend is encouraging. Initiatives like Bronx Is Reading, Norwood Community Library, Wildflower, Locked and Lit, and Literary Freedom Project are joining the effort.
“Literacy is the foundation, but it’s also joy,” Santos says. “I dream that even more local projects will emerge to inspire reading and support book culture in the Bronx”.