The Lit. Bar

The Lit. Bar

Company type	Independent bookstore and wine bar
Industry	Bookselling, hospitality
Founded	2015
Founder	Noëlle Santos
Headquarters	Bronx, New York City , United States
Products	Books, wine

The Lit. Bar: A Unique Bookstore and Wine Bar in the Bronx

The Lit. Bar operates as an independent bookstore located in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Bronx native Noëlle Santos in 2015, the store emerged from her concern after learning in 2014 that a Barnes & Noble near Co-op City—the borough's sole bookstore—was closing, despite Manhattan boasting around 90 bookstores. Santos, who identifies as "a black Latina female from the community," was raised in the Soundview area of the Bronx. She holds a bachelor's degree in business and accounting (2009) and a master's degree in human resources management (2012), both earned at Lehman College.

Before launching The Lit. Bar, Santos studied business but had no prior experience in bookselling. In 2019, just before opening the store, she revealed to The New York Times that she had never stepped inside an independent bookstore prior to deciding to establish one herself. In 2015, she completed a course titled "Owning a Bookstore," officially trademarked The Lit. Bar brand, and gained hands-on experience by volunteering at local bookshops. Her entrepreneurial efforts were recognized when she secured second place in the 2016 New York StartUp! Business Plan Competition, using the $7,500 prize to fund a pop-up bookstore at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

Toward the end of 2016, Santos launched a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo called "Let's Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to the Bronx." Featuring a video of Santos performing an original rap poem, the campaign surpassed its $100,000 target by raising between $170,000 and $200,000.

The Lit. Bar officially opened on April 27, 2019—coinciding with Independent Bookstore Day—a special event sponsored annually by the American Booksellers Association celebrating independent bookstores nationwide. The opening ceremony featured Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz reciting lines from Santos’s poem, highlighting the community’s literary revival.

Occupying approximately 1,700 square feet, The Lit. Bar combines a bookstore with a wine bar. This hybrid model helps balance financial viability by leveraging higher profit margins from wine sales to offset challenges common in independent book retailing. By 2025, The New York Times described it as potentially "the most widely known example of the book-bar hybrid." Santos strategically selected the South Bronx for its ongoing gentrification while acknowledging that escalating rents pose significant challenges for independent bookstores. She has referred to gentrification as a "national epidemic," noting that although The Lit. Bar contributes to it, such changes were already underway prior to her store’s establishment.

Santos envisions The Lit. Bar as a community space where newer residents drawn by gentrification can engage with long-standing South Bronx inhabitants. The store prominently features works by Black feminist authors and writers from the local Bronx community, emphasizing its commitment to representing diverse voices and fostering cultural connection within its neighborhood.