Today we’d like to introduce you to Esther Dairiam.
Esther, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I took a culinary tour to Paris in 2012. The tour included several cooking classes, and visits to restaurants, markets and small stores that sold products such as cooking tools and other culinary related products. One place that she took us to was a culinary bookstore and I was immediately enamored by it. That very night I researched such businesses in the United States and found that there were only a handful and NONE in Chicago. There had been one 20 or 30 years ago but not anymore. I did more research to see what it would take to open a business like this and began to define the concept that is today Read It & Eat.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been good and at the same time not the smoothest road. We’ve had several challenges with the space – we once had a problem with the air conditioning and my landlord was slow to fix the problem and one Saturday afternoon, we had an event with an author who was demoing pies and it was over 80 degrees! Fortunately, she turned it into a teaching moment and showed people how to work with pie dough in hot weather! We did have one customer fell asleep during the demo because it was so hot!!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Read It & Eat – what should we know?
We are a destination for culinary books and experiences. We specialize in bringing people together through our author events, pop-up dinners, and cooking classes. I think our concept of culinary books and the specific events that we do with the authors sets us apart from others. I am most proud of the relationships that we’ve built with people in the industry and with our customers. It makes me happy when a new customer comes to the store and they tell me that “so and so” told them about the store and that they should visit us.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I have had a lot of support from my friends and my family especially my Mum.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2142 N Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60614 - Website: www.readitandeatstore.com
- Phone: 773 661 6158
- Email: info@readitandeatstore.com
- Instagram: readitandeatstore
- Facebook: readitandeat
- Twitter: readitandeat
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
