When the new bookstore Zora’s Place opens in an Illinois city, it will make history as the first one that’s owned by a Black woman.
According to Evanston Round Table, L’Oreal Thompson Payton is excited for the doors of her bookshop to open this September. It will be located in The Aux Wellness Collective, a “welcoming space offering a wellness experience for every BODY through movement classes, coaching, therapy and more,” per its Instagram page. She named her brick-and-mortar after renowned author Zora Neale Hurston.
“She is my favorite author, and this is a way to celebrate her while centering Black women at the heart of the store. I really wanted to stay true to my roots and vision in having this bookstore highlight Black women and girls,” Payton told the publication.
Journalist L’Oreal Thompson Payton is behind Zora’s Place
Payton is an award-winning journalist, author and wellness advocate, according to Penguin Random House. Additionally, she’s penned stories for Essence, Fortune, SELF and New York Magazine, the Baltimore Sun, Jet and Ebony. Her first book, Stop Waiting for Perfect: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and Into Your Power, was released in 2023, and her debut children’s book, Amanda Gorman: Poet and Activist, will be out on Dec. 16.
“My retirement dream was to create a bookstore with a coffee shop, yoga studio, and co-working space,” she said. “But on a bookstore crawl with friends in 2019, I became inspired by Café con Libros, a small intersectional feminist bookstore with a coffee shop in Brooklyn. Then when the Black woman-owned bookstore Call & Response opened in Hyde Park, I thought, ‘Why can’t we bring this to Evanston?'”
Representation matters to Payton due to the fact that she didn’t see herself in the magazines and books she read, which was disheartening at times. This experience, happening one too many times, essentially led her to become a writer.
“As a teenager I didn’t see myself represented in the books or magazines I read, like Sweet Valley High, Cosmo Girl and Teen People,” she explained. “That void is what inspired me to become a journalist, and write my own stories. I realized that my words and writing could help other people.”
For this reason, she hopes Zora’s Place can be an inspiring hub where visitors feel seen, especially Black women.
“We’re creating a warm, intentional space where Black women can feel seen, supported, and inspired,” the creative said.
Zora’s Place is more than a bookstore
Payton is also a yoga teacher passionate about encouraging Black women and girls to adopt best practices for maintaining their mental and physical health. So, renting a unit at The Aux Wellness Collective aligned with her in more ways than one.
“Evanston is very diverse, and The Aux makes perfect sense. There’s a cafe and laundromat, and it seems like a natural place where people might want to get a book,” she said.
Payton plans to fill the space with story hours, author Q&As, writing workshops, book clubs and a whole roster of interactive events. She envisions a space that feels both culturally rich and comfortably inviting.
“I see it having an Afro-bohemian vibe, like you’re walking into your rich auntie’s living room. There will be space to get cozy, grab a book, and stay a while,” she shared.
For those looking to support the bookstore, Payton set up a donation fund on GiveButter.com. So far, she has raised $10,331 out of her $25,000 goal.
