By Zoe Perzo
Lavish Booktique is a pop-up shop in the Bronx that focuses on diverse titles written by women.
I met with the owner, Christine Osoria, to learn more about her store’s collection, her community, and her long-term goals.
Osoria decided to open the pop-up after she self-published a children’s book called Rosalia - The Honduran American.
“While marketing my story, I realized that women’s stories were not as highlighted as I would like them to be,” Osoria recalled.
Osoria also noticed that for the size of the Bronx, there were relatively few bookstores.
“The Bronx is a very large community,” she said, “and literacy is so important. Books have been such a large part of my life. My parents came over from Honduras, and they didn’t speak English. We always had books in our home so that they could learn English.”
“I just wanted to share these books — these resources — so that they could be available to my community,” she explained.
Determined to help fill the gap she saw in her community, Osoria launched Lavish Booktique in 2023.
Though she briefly debated what her inventory would look like, she ultimately decided the choice was obvious.
“I’m a mom of daughters, first generation, and Latina. I really feel the next generation needs to hear about our past and other stories from other women authors so they can be inspired to do what they want in their life,” she said. “There are so many women’s stories in this world that people don’t know about. So Lavish Booktique highlights those stories.”
Osoria carries diverse titles across all genres — whatever she thinks might resonate with her community — but she has a soft spot for children’s books like her own that show children growing up in different cultures.
Since Osoria also works a full-time job, she mostly operates the pop-up on the weekends, but that hasn’t stopped her from building multiple community partnerships and a steady event schedule.
“I partner with groups like the Riverdale Main Street Alliance and the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Van Cortlandt Development Corporation (KRVC),” she said. “They do an annual block party in the community, so I’ll have a stand there. I also do pop-ups with KRVC every month or so.”
Most days, Lavish Booktique is a one-woman show, with Osoria handling everything from curation to operation to marketing. But sometimes her family lends a hand.
“My kids are 18, 16, and nine,” she said. “I love when they get involved. They get to see the power of books and words. And it’s a way to teach them business skills, customer service, and about being part of the community.”
Two years into operation, Osoria has gotten used to handling a pop-up, but she explained that early on she faced a lot of the same challenges as any new bookstore owner, like funding and building out inventory.
“I just jumped into it,” she recalled, “but I wish I had known more about all the different companies we can order from, or how to communicate with publishing companies, and who to reach out to in order to bring out authors.”
Another constant challenge is choosing a small selection of titles — from the vast number available — that will best fit her community.
Osoria believes that opening Lavish Booktique as a pop-up was a great starting point for her business.
“Being a pop-up bookstore owner — especially as a working mother — has allowed me to do things on my own time. I’m writing. I’m working my nine-to-five. It’s sports season for the kids. With Lavish Booktique I get to set my own schedule and still get to know my community,” she explained.
But she doesn’t plan on keeping the Booktique a pop-up forever. In the future, she wants to transition to a brick-and-mortar so she can share more stories and empower more people in her community.
She also hopes that as she grows, she can bring more authors into the Bronx, and even organize a book festival.
“It’s a huge goal of mine,” she said, “to bring more authors from different genres and backgrounds into our community. I want people to get to meet them, and hear their stories, and know that authors are just like us. They’re humans who wrote a story that they loved and wanted to share with the world.”
If you’d like to support Lavish Booktique, you can order from the store on Bookshop.org, or catch Osoria at one of her pop-up events! Follow the shop on Instagram or sign up for the store newsletter to learn more!
