When Evanston author L’Oreal Thompson Payton envisions her bookstore, she sees a cozy, but funky, space with a mid-century modern feel that serves as a sanctuary for everyone who walks in.
What was once a retirement dream will become reality next month when Zora’s Place opens with a soft launch on Sept. 6 and celebrates its grand opening in October at The AUX Wellness Collective at 2223 Washington St. The AUX, a minority-led business collective which opened in May, centers Black-owned businesses, and Zora’s Place is no different.
“To differentiate ourselves and also stay true to my Black feminist values, I wanted to intentionally have a space where Black women authors are centered, where we make up most of the books in retail,” said Thompson Payton, a bestselling author, award-winning journalist and now founder of Zora’s Place.
Thompson Payton said about 85% of books in stock will be written by Black women authors.
Other items for sale, including planners and candles, will be created by Black women, and a Black woman artist will paint a mural for the store’s back wall.
Thompson Payton said Zora’s Place draws its name from two sources of inspiration: first, from Zora Neale Hurston, author of Thompson Payton’s favorite book “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” as well as the name of a publication, ZORA, that Thompson Payton worked for that focuses on women of color.
Thompson Payton sees supporting Black women as a way of giving back. She said she is “humbled” to be the owner of Evanston’s first Black feminist bookstore and by the positive community response she has seen thus far.
“Every book intentionally features Black and brown kids so that they know when they come in, when their parents, their caregivers know as well that (in) these stories, they’re going to see themselves reflected back in those papers, because I do believe that representation is very important,” Thompson Payton said.
After stumbling upon an intersectional feminist bookstore on a girls’ trip to Brooklyn in 2019, Thompson Payton said she wanted to open a similar business. She dreamed of creating a multipurpose space: a bookstore, coffee shop, yoga studio and co-working space all in one, but put the idea on the back burner.
Plans shifted earlier this year when Thompson Payton began to talk with Tiffini Holmes, co-founder and co-owner of The AUX Wellness Collective, about teaching yoga at the space. In one conversation, Holmes mentioned that The AUX had some empty offices, which Thompson Payton said turned out to be much cheaper than other empty storefronts elsewhere in Evanston.
Holmes said the two finalized the partnership in June and began the work to launch Zora’s Place.
“So far, the setup process has been going really well,” Holmes said. “There has been some real community excitement around the bookstore.”
Zora’s Place plans on highlighting an often overlooked aspect of wellness to The AUX. When people think of wellness, they often think of fitness classes or mental health, Holmes said, but the bookstore will bring a “softer side of wellness,” serving as an “inclusive gathering space.”
Thompson Payton’s husband, Jeff Payton, has helped with business and building operations over the past few months. He said it’s been “inspiring” to work alongside his wife and watch her pursue her dream.
“I’ve seen her work up close for the last 10 years,” he said. “There’s not really been anything that she hasn’t achieved when she’s set her mind to doing it.”
Jeff Payton said he hopes Zora’s Place will fill Evanston’s void of “third spaces,” allowing the community, especially young families, to gather.
The approximately 495-square-foot space will tentatively operate from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday.
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