Aryana Noroozi

Cellar Door Books is more than a storefront to its neighborhood and owner, Linda Sherman-Nurick. Sherman-Nurick said it is a safe space for her community. As the bookstore’s founder, she said that the bookstore is more than just hers – it belongs to the community.

Like any business, Cellar Door Books has weathered unique challenges in its 11 years of existence, but in recent years the bookstore has found itself within the conflict that many establishments and individuals are facing nationally. 

In 2018, Cellar Door Books began its  Drag Queen Story Time,  with an intent to celebrate diversity and show kids that they are loved and accepted for who they are. Shortly after the event was launched in 2018, members of the Proud Boys and other hate groups identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center began to congregate outside the entrance to the store.

But this did not stop Sherman-Nurick and others from continuing to uphold and build their inclusive community. She explained that she sees the store as a means to fight the assault on history and literature. The bookstore distinguishes itself with diverse authors and characters that historically haven’t been featured in the literary spotlight. 

“It’s blossomed. It’s just this gorgeous, beautiful field of possibility,” said Sherman-Nurick. “Now we’re seeing the backlash. We’re seeing all the people trying to shut those doors, trying to close off those possibilities and stop people from reading those books and that’s why it’s really important that we continue to do what we’re doing.”

While states like Florida and Texas face censorship in their books and educational curriculum, ithas manifested differently for Cellar Door Books. On a weekend in late January, Sherman-Nurick received an email from the property management at the Canyon Crest Towne Centre where her store is located. They notified her that her lease was terminated and she needed to be out in less than two months.

 “Can I say that this was caused by our drag queen storytime or our politics or our diverse books? Of course, I can’t say that. If I said that, I would be libelous, because I can’t prove that,” Sherman-Nurick said about the immediate lease termination. “But when you look at the books that are being banned in Florida, it feels just like our bookshelves. The same books are up there,” she explained pointing to bookshelves in the store. “Doesn’t that make you wonder?”

Black Voice News and IE Voice spent time with Sherman-Nurick at Cellar Door Books, photographing the space and some of its community members.  Check out the photos below to learn more about the bookstore’s community and upcoming horizons.

You can still visit Cellar Door Books at its’ Canyon Crest Towne Centre location until it relocates in May. The store says they will be celebrating Indie Bookstore Day with their Drag Queens and a large celebration of their last ten years on Saturday, April 29th. Their last day at the Canyon Crest Towne Center is May 6th and they plan to open the new location later in the month. Their new location is  located at 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA, right across from Sprouts!

Founder and owner of Cellar Door Books, Linda Sherman-Nurick, talks with Steven Cason, one of her longtime customers on March 17, 2023. Cason is an essential part of the bookstore’s community and upon learning of the lease termination, stepped in to support Sherman-Nurick with the move, from costs to logistics. “I was just like, ‘What? Are you serious?’  I’ve been here 10 years. I made it through COVID,” she said, recounting her reaction when reading the email the property management sent to terminate her lease with less than two months’ notice. Sherman-Nurick says when she posted about the situation on social media, the store was the busiest it had ever been in its 10 years of existence. “I think it hit something very visceral in people. [The customers thought] ‘This is our bookstore. This is not her bookstore, this is our bookstore, and you [the property managers] just attacked.’ So people came back very hard.” (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
A customer at the Canyon Crest Towne Centre walks past Cellar Door Books on March 17, 2023. “Can I say that this was caused by our drag queen storytime or our politics or our diverse books? Of course, I can’t say that. If I said that, I would be libelous, because I can’t prove that,” Sherman-Nurick said about the immediate lease termination. “But when you look at the books that are being banned in Florida, it feels just like our bookshelves. The same books are up there,” she explained pointing to shelves in the story. “Doesn’t that make you wonder?  I believe that it is a part of this attempt to stop the voices that have been awakened, well not awakened; they’ve been here forever.”   (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
Founder and owner of Cellar Door Books, Linda Sherman-Nurick poses for a portrait at the bookstore on March 17, 2023. Sherman-Nurick was an educator who taught writing at Riverside Community College until 2012 when she was asked by a friend what she would do, if she could do anything.  Sherman-Nurick said she’d open a bookstore. “I think that we are seeing the fight for books… what they’re fighting against is a history that includes all of us and not some of us,” Sherman-Nurick said adding that her  heroes are the bookstores and publishers in states like Florida and Idaho that are continuing to put books in the hands of children.  (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
Founder and owner of Cellar Door Books, Sherman-Nurick, assists a customer on March 17, 2023. The customer is one of Sherman-Nurick’s many regular customers whom she has built a relationship with, gaining an understanding of their lives as well as their literary favorites. After the bookstore faced an immediate lease termination, Cellar Door Books’ community banded together to keep the business afloat. Together they were able to continue fostering a safe space for and uplift the voices of Riverside’s Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) community. “It was people coming in here and saying, ‘What are we going to do?’”  Sherman-Nurick said thinking back to the election of former President Trump. “It was very grassroots. I don’t know that people really understand, especially politicians, really understand what grassroots is, it means all these people gathered together and made this happen. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
A customer purchases a book from Cellar Door Books on March 17, 2023. “Our publishers have been pretty amazing about publishing books by authors of color and characters who we haven’t seen in literature before,” bookstore owner and founder Sherman-Nurick said. “It’s blossomed. It’s just this gorgeous, beautiful field of possibility. Now we’re seeing the backlash. We’’re seeing all the people trying to shut those doors, trying to close off those possibilities and stop people from reading those books and that’s why it’s really important that we continue to do what we’re doing.” (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
On March 17, 2023, Sherman-Nurick and one of her four employees and assistant manager, Steven Sweeney, review details of the measurements of the new location in preparation for their move. Sherman said she looks forward to designing and structuring the new store with her experience from creating the original storefront.  (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
Sherman-Nurick looks at her records to find the date of the first purchase of her longtime loyal customer, Steven Cason. They discovered that Cason has been a part of the bookstore community since 2012. Upon learning of the lease termination, Cason immediately took a lead on helping Cellar Door Books with the move, from its financial to logistical aspects. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
Sherman-Nurick stands behind the register of her bookstore, Cellar Door Books. As the owner, she says that the bookstore doesn’t just belong to her, it’s a safe space for Riverside’s diverse community. “The first time we did it [Drag Queen Story Time], the three drag queens – who are amazing – were sitting up here, and one of our little kids, he raised his hand. He goes, ‘Excuse me, my little brother, he likes to dress in my mom’s clothes,” Sherman-Nurick said. ‘One of the drag queens looks at him and she said, ‘That’s okay.’ And I was like, ‘I’m in.’ That’s it. I’m all in because that’s what all it’s about. It means it doesn’t matter. It’s okay. You’re still good.”  (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
Steven Cason poses for a portrait at Cellar Door Books on March 17, 2023. Cason has been a customer since 2012 and has been an instrumental part of organization and support within the bookstore in their moving plans since the lease was terminated.  (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).
The reflection of neighboring businesses cast onto the window of Cellar Door Books on March 17, 2023. In late January, bookstore owner Sherman-Nurick received an email from property management at the Canyon Crest Towne Centre that her lease was being terminated and she had under two months to vacate. The bookstore’s community of customers were outraged and banded together to involve local leaders and push for a later termination date to allow time to find a new storefront space. “They were here and they cared. It mattered to them,” bookstore owner and founder Sherman-Nurick said. “They all have their ideas. Some people have donated money, and just one guy came in and just gave us a check for one thousand dollars to help us move.” (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local).

Black Voice News photojournalist Aryana Noroozi was born in San Diego, California and graduated with a master’s degree from The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Her love for visual storytelling led her to document immigrant and deportee communities and those struggling with addiction. She was a 2020 Pulitzer Center Crisis Reporting Fellow and a GroundTruth Project Migration Fellow. She is currently a CatchLight/Report for America corps member employed by Black Voice News. You can learn more about her at aryananoroozi.com. You can email her at aryana@blackvoicenews.com.