MLIS Alumna Saves Beloved Bookstore

Stephanie Kitchen, MLIS '04 has purchased the recently shuttered City Lit Books, provoking a sigh of relief from lovers of independent bookstores throughout Chicago. A Chicago Public Library system librarian for the past 13 years, Kitchen reopened the beloved Logan Square institution at the end of June. 

Kitchen was chagrined to learn of the closing of her neighborhood book store in December 2020. City Lit Books, which opened in 2012, had moved to exclusively online orders in March 2020, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and owner Teresa Kirschbraun made the difficult decision to close the business at the end of the year. Ktichen reached out to Kirschbraun with a proposal to buy the business.

Long harboring a dream of owning a bookstore, Kitchen has experience working in new and used bookstores and recently took a seminar for budding bookstore owners--the timing seemed right to take the leap. While ownership is a bit daunting, Kitchen will have Kirschbraun's help--and the support of the neighborhood. 

City Lit Books is located at 2523 N. Kedzie Boulevard in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. 

You can read an article in the Chicago Tribune about Kitchen and City Lit Books. 

Photo by Jose M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune,