Niche Book Bar Will Pop Up at Sherman Phoenix
The in-progress bookstore with focus on black authors will sell books at two holiday events.
The Sherman Phoenix. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Niche Book Bar, an independent bookstore with a focus on Black authors and stories, will host two holiday pop-ups at Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave.
On Saturday, Nov. 26 and Saturday, Dec. 17, owner Cetonia Weston-Roy will offer a variety of books and tote bags at the entrepreneurial hub — for holiday shoppers and bookworms alike.
Attendees can expect mostly adult books, with some options for younger kids, Weston-Roy told Urban Milwaukee.
Weston-Roy first founded Niche Book Bar in 2019 as a mobile operation, with book display shelves attached to a bicycle.
A table will replace the bike setup for the upcoming pop-up, which comes as the bookstore prepares to open a brick-and-mortar location on King Drive.
The upcoming store will center on Black literature and red wine, offering books and beverages with a side of community conversation. Weston-Roy said she plans to host meetings for her book club, Well Red, and would also allow other clubs to congregate in the space.
Turning Niche Book Bar into a physical store has always been the end goal for Weston-Roy, she told Urban Milwaukee in July. “I feel like the pop-ups, you know, the bike, all of that was in preparation to have a brick and mortar,” she said.
The pop-up is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Nov. 26 and Dec. 17. Sherman Phoenix, a business hub located in the Sherman Park neighborhood, is currently home to 27 small businesses predominantly run by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) owners. More information about Sherman Phoenix and Black Out Saturday is available online.
