In New York, it’s hard to run a bookstore, and it’s hard to run a bar, with both battling sky-high rents and changing consumer habits. That’s why forward-thinkers like A.J. Jacono are merging the two. In 2023, he opened Bibliotheque, and since the hybrid venue has welcomed in a starry guest list, with its litereary-inspired wine list since celebrated by national awards. Jacono’s eyeing expansion, but he wants more people to open spaces like his: “They’re a very positive thing for the community.”
In the room, there are dancing clocks, dramatic chandeliers, leather banquettes and 10,000 books. It’s elegant, yet homely, like stepping into the snug yet plush living room of a rich relative. Inside, there are screenplay writers, poets, calligraphers, and sometimes psychics; sometimes, even the former bob-and-sunglasses-clad editor of Vogue,
No, this isn’t a modernised retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It’s actually New York’s Bibliotheque – a wine-bar-bookstore cafe launched by writer A.J. Jacono in late 2023. Jacano quit his job in publishing to chase his dream of launching a bookshop with his celeb surgeon father – inspired by the dual-stores cropping up around New York – reimagining what it means to sell books.
For decades, bookstores in The Big Apple were vanishing rapidly, thwarted by social media and sky-high rent. In 1950, Manhattan had 286 bookstores, according to Gothamist; by 2015, the number was down to 106. In 2019, according to a count by the Strand, there were fewer than 80. Now, they’re entering a new chapter, offering booklovers the chance to dine and drink while they flick through pages.
A bookish wine list
A.J. Jacono launched Bibliotheque with his father in SoHo, Lower Manhattan, in late 2023
At the East Village’s Book Club Bar, for instance, cocktails are basically expressions of poetry (In Cold Bloody Mary, Whiskey the Pooh, Cider House Mule), and Book Club Bar and Lit. Bar also serve both alcohol and books (‘lit’ like literature, ‘lit’ like drunk, its website spells out). Plenty of others, like Flatiron and the Strand brew cappuccinos. But Jacono thinks he’s the first to embark on the triple concept space: Bibliotheque in SoHo is a wine bar, bookstore and cafe. “We’re treading new ground,” declares Jacono, “We’re turning the idea of what a hospitality establishment could be on its head.”
The wine list, for instance, is not your typical wine list. Jacono works closely with beverage director Scott Woltz, previously of three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, to instill the catalogue with a literary lilt. Bordeaux, Burgundy and Tuscany shine, with rare bottles donated in verticals like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Petrus. There are more than 20 by-the-glass options on the 700-varietal list, which was even honoured by the Wine Spectator’s 2024 Best of Award of Excellence.
But rather than region, it’s split into chapters: There are ‘short stories’ (by the glass), ‘stanzas’ (half bottles), ‘self-help’ (Champagne, obviously), ‘fantasies’ (expensive baller bottles) and ‘sagas’ (large format wines). Louis Pasteur said, “a bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world”. And for Jacono, who’s the founder of literary and arts journal The Spotlong Review, reading and drinking certainly share sensibilities: “There’s a certain romance that emerges from wine,” he contemplates. “We do have a romance section, and it’s the succulent, passionate bottles of wine that could be spicy; could be seductive. But any wine has a history; the stories of the people who run the wineries, the houses…”
‘Life is short, art is long’
Jacono would pair his own novel, a thriller, with “a really deep, bloody Syrah”
Storytelling, like winemaking, blends technicality with passion: utilising the tools of structure, genre and theme to deliver a devastating love story perhaps parallels the fermentation, filtration and ageing processes behind a particularly complex bottle. Jacono knows this better than most. When he has a moment, he abandons his post at the bar to work on his own writing, glass in hand. He’s appeared in magazines like in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, Southeast Review and upstreet, and is currently pitching his debut novel, an intense literary thriller, to publishing houses. But what wine goes with it? He doesn’t hesitate: “A really deep, bloody Syrah. It’s got the dark nature to it, but this sanguine beauty.” It’s the same wine Woltz would match with Truman Capote’s true-crime masterpiece, In Cold Blood.
Much of Jacono’s day is spent suggesting wine and book pairings to thirsty bibliophiles (“it’s an art form”). Take Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo and Juliet, for instance. Jacono swerves away from the obvious choice of red, and plumps for Californian vineyard Love You Bunches’ orange wine. “It’s a bit on the nose,” he admits, “but when you drink it you feel this sense of romance. People on dates drink it, especially in summer. It’s fruit-forward – an easy drink, but some people are like, ‘it’s more complex than I thought it would be.’”
In this way, both wine and literature spark conversation. When people drink wine, they want to share it, says Jacono. Like a bar, a character-packed novel is a “locus of social interaction”, pens Adam O’Fallon Price in The Paris Review. While reading is often considered a solitary act, managing the bookshop-bar-cafe has shown Jacono, “it’s much more social than people give it credit for”. This sums up why A.J opened the place to start with. “Since Covid, it’s been more and more difficult to find authentic social experiences, and being able to facilitate this since then; it’s been really gratifying.”
What’s the future for NYC’s nightlife?
Nightclubs around New York are battling a challenging trading environment, including staggering rent costs, spiking insurance rates and changing consumer habits
In the post-pandemic hangover, nightlife in the city that (allegedly) never sleeps is struggling. A cluster of clubs from Bushwick to Williamsburg have shut down, citing staggering rent costs and spiking insurance rates; and young people are drinking less, ditching the dancefloor for activities like dinner parties, members clubs and run meets. Speaking to TimeOut, Varghese Chacko, co-founder of Nightlife United, said spaces relying on multiple streams of income, as opposed to just alcohol, are best steeled to survive.
By this logic, Jacono’s site on Mercer Street is armoured well. It’s not just a bar; not even just a bookshop-bar, but a triple threat: a bookshop-bar-cafe. Yes, there’s the business side of things, says Jacono, but what makes hospitality worth it is the ability to connect with people and create unforgettable experiences. Part of that is yoking together concepts – multiple worlds – that are more similar than first meets the eye.
‘Life is short. Art is long’ – an urgent mantra from Hippocrates beams from the bar in neon yellow. There’s artwork from Henri Matisse, Sylvia Plimack Mangold and Alexander Calder, and more from Robert Longo, Roy Lichtenstein, Damien Hirst and Rashid Johnson in the lounge, where diners can also enjoy food from Épicerie Boulud and coffee beans from Onyx Coffee Lab. Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves of fiction, fantasy, mystery, travel, memoir and thriller, bibliophiles don’t just flock to the 70-capacity venue to read. There’s a sparkling stream of events, from calligraphy classes to author readings, cocktail parties, board game nights, movie nights, psychic readings and painting workshops. Valentine’s Day lasted not a day, but a month. Screenwriters, novelists and poets come to agonise over first drafts. Sketchers sketch, couples fall in love over Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. One guest, notes Jacono, will return to Bibliotheque to propose to his girlfriend – it was the scene of their first date.
Star-studded guest list
Jacono hopes to open a second Bibliotheque in New York before he sets sights on the international market
And Jacono falls in love with every guest he meets, too. There’s been award-winning authors and celebs, like Jenna Bush Hager, and then Anna Wintour (“she had her shades on and everything – she has an aura, like, it’s not even a joke. I was so shocked. She just emanates authority and fashion”). But he appears equally starstruck by regulars: “At this point I’ve met 1000’s of people, and everybody has something wonderful to say. Being able to serve and interact with them has been really special.”
Meeting people is his second favourite part of running the bar. His first? “I’m really lucky that I’ve managed to cultivate a team that I know, without a doubt, loves the place, loves what we do, and loves interacting with the guests.”
He loves it so much that he wants to do it all over again. Jacono’s eyeing expansion – perhaps a site in New York’s Upper West Side – before he branches out to the international market. “But,” he makes clear, “I certainly don’t want us to be the only place doing this. I want to see these places proliferate, because they’re a very positive thing for the community.”
So what’s his advice for someone looking to start their own bookshop-bar? “100% do it”. He waxes poetic: “It’s so fun. It’s stressful, but in the best way. Don’t get too disheartened, because there’s going to be a lot of challenges. Just keep going, but never lose the passion. You have to have a real drive for it, and a real vision, but at the end of the day, make it about giving great service, a great experience, and connection.
“If it’s authentic and presented with love and effort, the success will follow you.”
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