Nikole Hannah-Jones, A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Will Open A Black-Owned Literary Hub In Brooklyn
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones plans to open The North Star Books + Bar in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in 2026, according to its website.
The literary space will occupy the former Macon Hardware store at the corner of Macon Street and Marcus Garvey Boulevard, a Black-owned business that closed in 2023, notes the Brownstoner.
Hannah-Jones is partnering with local entrepreneurs Rotimi and Ayo Akinnuoye, the husband-and-wife team behind Bed-Stuy establishments Bed-Vyne Wine, Bed-Vyne Brew, and Bed-Vyne Cocktail, and DJ Johnson, owner of Baldwin & Co. in New Orleans, per The North Star Books + Bar’s website. The group will convert the two-story brick building into a bookstore and bar with community-focused programming.
“I’m very plugged into the writer community, I’m friends with a lot of great writers, and I wanted to bring those writers into our community,” Hannah-Jones told Brownstoner.
“Whenever you have big book events in the city, they’re not at Black bookstores and they’re not in Black neighborhoods, so I really wanted to bring that to Bed-Stuy. People should expect all of their writing heroes,” she continued.
Macon Hardware had been a long-standing Black-owned business in Bed-Stuy dating back to 1930, as the Brownstoner notes. Warren Hayes, whose family ran the store, said he was pleased to sell the building to Hannah-Jones. Peter and Clara Hayes, Warren’s parents, purchased the store in 1987 after Peter had worked there since age 12.
Hannah-Jones, a Bed-Stuy resident for nearly 15 years, had previously planned to lease a storefront for the public literary space, which fell through. She then decided to purchase the building at 339 Macon Street to maintain Black ownership in the neighborhood.
According to the Brownstoner, the North Star Books + Bar will include a full-service bar and kitchen on the first floor and apartments on the second floor that will serve as micro-residencies for visiting writers. These writers will lead workshops, host readings, and participate in community events.
“We’re not going to have a huge menu. It’s hard enough to make money on books, but we will have the capability to offer a full menu whenever we’re ready,” Hannah-Jones told Brownstoner.
The space’s design draws inspiration from the Harlem Renaissance, incorporating Art Deco elements. It will honor Black writers from Zora Neale Hurston and James Baldwin to contemporary voices shaping literature today, according to Brownstoner.
Hannah-Jones, known for her work on The 1619 Project, according to the outlet, as well as supporting Black journalists through the Ida B. Wells Society, as AFROTECH™ previously reported, said The North Star Books + Bar will provide a space for writers, readers, and community members to gather and engage with literature and the arts. In addition, the store will offer a limited food menu.
