At the height of the pandemic, Cetonia Weston-Roy set out on a mission on three wheels to expose the local community to Black literature. Her tricycle had a bookshelf attached to it, allowing Weston-Roy whenever she stopped to showcase books written by Black authors and featuring Black characters.
Weston-Roy is now preparing to trade her vehicle for something more stationary – a brick and mortar location for Niche Book Bar.
Niche Book Bar, 1937 N. King Dr., will feature Black literature across multiple genres, including children’s, classics, history and fantasy books. Additionally, the literary experience includes coffee, tea, baked goods and a plain wine menu.
Weston-Roy said she hasn’t set an opening day but is aiming for mid-September.
While having a brick-and-mortar location was always her goal, the pandemic forced her to find original ways to promote her business.
“The brick and mortar was always the end goal, but around the time I incorporated, which was 2020, the pandemic was in full swing by March and we weren’t sure when anything was opening back up,” she said. “I just had to brainstorm how can I still get Niche’s name out there in some capacity while staying outside in a safer environment – so that’s where the bike idea came from.”
She said the positive response was unexpected.
“I definitely didn’t expect people to react the way they did to me riding the tricycle. A lot of people would stop. They’d slow down, they’d smile, they’d talk to me about what it was I was doing. Kids, in particular, definitely love anything on the wheels,” she said.
The focus on Black literature stemmed from Weston-Roy’s recognition as a reader that there wasn’t a lot of variation in Black characters’ stories.
“At the same time I was formulating and deciding to make this leap, I was getting back into reading for fun and there had always been something missing from my reading experience,” she said. “It was really around that time I was able to put my finger on it, which was that the only time I saw black characters was in struggle or trauma-based positions in stories. You didn’t really see anything else.”
This is what encouraged Weston-Roy to develop her own children’s book series, “The Misadventures of Toni Macaroni.”
“I feel like a lot of our characters are struggling with loving themselves or they’re struggling with some sort of influence that is kind of an oppressive force on them. And I just wanted to create one who was sort of free of that,” Weston-Roy said. “She knows she’s black, she knows what she looks like, who she is – it’s just natural to love yourself and to exist in your full capacity and self, and she does that.”
Weston-Roy hopes Niche Book Bar will become a community space. Although it will lean more toward the adult experience, there also will be a petite children’s area. Programming will include events for families and community book clubs.
She hopes Niche Book Bar will become a community staple and “be on the list of great places when you want to find your niche.”
