Just weeks after L’Oreal Thompson Payton opened her bookstore, an older Black woman spoke five words that resonated with her: “I am proud of you.”
In that moment, Thompson Payton realized her bookstore was a valued space in the community that “centers around Black women,” she said.
Zora’s Place, Evanston’s only Black-woman-owned bookstore, hit the one-month mark on Oct. 20 after its grand opening in September. Located at The AUX on Washington Street, the response to the bookstore has been “overwhelmingly positive,” making the experience feel “still a little bit surreal,” Thompson Payton said.
Customers have flocked to the bookstore from all over the Chicago area, including Waukegan, Oak Park and Gurnee, to check out its selection of Black feminist literature and products from Black-woman-owned businesses.
Thompson Payton said Zora’s Place is more than a bookstore, serving as a gathering space within The AUX, a minority-led business hub. Since opening, the store has hosted family story times, author talks and write-ins, a time for writers to work on their pieces together.
“When you come in here, you can breathe, you can be, you can exhale,” Thompson Payton said. “That’s what I set out to do, so it means a lot to hear that is how it’s resonating with people as well.”
Writer, sommelier and third-generation Evanston resident Chasity Cooper took part in the bookstore’s grand opening, hosting a wine and book pairing.
Cooper said she now visits The AUX about once a week, stopping by Zora’s Place to explore books beyond her usual romance picks.
“Now, I need to read some of the classics,” she said, “I know she has novels by Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston.”
Two of the most popular genres have been self-help and wellness books, which Thompson Payton said she has to constantly restock.
“I feel like it’s representative of the time that we are in and people, especially Black women, want to focus on their health and wellness,” she said.
Aside from options like self-help books, memoirs and liturgies, customers also come to Zora’s Place to browse for children’s books representing Black and brown identities and experiences.
Rogers Park resident Shanequa Taylor is a fitness instructor at The AUX Wellness Collective and often purchases books from Zora’s Place for her six-year-old nephew, she said.
“My sister mentioned, ‘I can’t find any books by Black authors,’” Taylor said, “I’ll get him one (here).”
Thompson Payton said she wants to keep brainstorming events that help people from all parts of the community engage with Zora’s Place. She added that she has to remind herself to pace the community events at the bookstore to avoid burnout, a piece of advice other booksellers have shared with her.
For now, she is planning a Halloween-themed family yoga class and guest author visits, she said.
As for larger events, Thompson Payton is brainstorming everything from Tiny Desk Concert-style performances with her friend, singer and poet Pam R. Johnson Davis, to open mic nights and themed book clubs.
Along with being a bookseller, Thompson Payton is also a freelance journalist, mom to a four-year-old and author.
“It’s a lot,” she said, “I’m still figuring that out, if I’m being perfectly honest, but I have a great community.”
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— Zora’s Place to be Evanston’s only Black woman-owned bookstore, set for grand opening in October
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