A mobile bookstore in the Bronx “is where my heart is”
A mobile bookstore in the Bronx “is where my heart is”
“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.
Latanya DeVaughn is the owner and operator of Bronx Bound Books, a mobile bookstore she started in May 2019. After working in various jobs and feeling unfulfilled, “I realized that opening up a bookstore is where my heart is,” DeVaughn said. Because of rising storefront prices in the Bronx, she bought a bus she found on Craigslist with her savings and used a $20,000 business grant from Lowe’s to renovate the interior. DeVaughn said her mobile bookstore is a way to provide access to books in her community, which she says has only one brick-and-mortar bookstores.
In the future, DeVaughn hopes to partner with organizations that serve families with an incarcerated parent. “Both my parents were incarcerated, in and out of jail as I grew up, and I would like to be able to connect with families who have an incarcerated parent and do events that will help them bridge the gap.”
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