A local bookstore and cafe in Elk Grove, A Seat at the Table Books, has been opening its doors for to the local community and Franklin High students for almost five years.

The store is family-owned and provides a welcoming atmosphere. It brings the community together through its wide variety of books and various monthly events. The retailer’s goal is to represent and affirm all races and identities and to help individuals further learn more about themselves and others.

A Seat at the Table Books originally opened as a pop-up and online bookstore that the owners later remodeled and turned into a brick-and-mortar store in November 2021. From there, they eventually built their store, brick by brick.

Owner Emily Autenrieth said the store began with the intention to meet an unmet need in Elk Grove.

“I started A Seat at the Table Books because I identified the need for community space in Elk Grove that would have space for neurodivergent people and people of all racial and ethnic identities, people from all over the world,” Autenrieth said.

“Everyone in Elk Grove needed somewhere to feel safe and have a seat at the table.”

Autenrieth came to the realization that a bookstore could do the trick.

“I went to a conference and met someone who was doing some work around queer identity and inclusion who mentioned that she wished she could start a bookstore and it just sparked something in me where I thought about how we didn’t really have places where we could access books that were curated to represent everyone, where we could gather and feel safe in community,” Autenrieth said.

“I just really wish someone could open something like a bookstore, cafe, play area, and then really couldn’t let the idea go, and once I named it, I realized that I should be the one to bring it to life, and brought my spouse along the journey with me.”

At A Seat at the Table Books, Autenrieth made sure to include books that not only entertains others but inform people.

“Books are a really powerful thing,” Autenrieth said. “I grew up in a very conservative environment, not understanding the lives of people around me, and books are what opened up my mind. So what I have seen here is a seat at the table with bookshelves that are curated, so you can see yourselves in books.”

A little after the store was opened, the books became something that customers bonded fondly over.

“Just being able to be in the presence of a book selection that represents you can be a very powerful thing,” Autenrieth said. “We see people come here just to be surrounded by the kind of books that we curate and the people that value those books, but we’ve also seen book clubs started by community members because they love what we have to offer and the safety of our space, so they come together to talk over books.”

Outside of books, Autenrieth gained insight from customers who shared their comfort in finding a place where they can truly be themselves.

“People cry once a week, I have someone crying and saying what the space means to them, and it’s so powerful,” Autenrieth said. 

Autenrieth said the endeavor has been a significant personal achievement. 

“For me, I grew up closeted even to myself as someone who would not have been safe to even know who my own identity was in the conservative spaces I was in, so I love seeing that impact on other people in our community, where they often tell me,” Autenrieth said. “I did not have anything like this when I was young, and there was nothing in Elk Grove for me like this when I was growing up and trying to figure out who I was. Having it now, and just knowing they can be here in this space and be themselves, has made a really profound impact on a lot of Elk Grove residents.”

On its website (https://www.aseatatthetablebooks.org/), the store advertises different banned books. 

“That’s why people are afraid of them, because they empower diverse communities to be themselves,” Autenrieth said.

“So having those proudly displayed on our website and on our shelves does make a difference in people knowing that they’re valid for who they are.”

Autenrieth is committed to having the store be open to anyone and everyone.

“We’re here to give everyone a seat at the table, and that’s really true in everything that we do,” Autenrieth said.

“It’s true in our eco-friendly coffee, it’s from a queer roaster. I hope people can come here and experience just the absolute joy of being in community, even if they don’t agree with everything we stand for.”

Ryan Autenrieth, Emily’s spouse, describes the process of helping to transform the dream into a reality.

“The Seat at the Table was an idea that my spouse, Emily, came up with about four years ago, and during that time, she was really excited to create a safe, inclusive bookstore cafe and community space that we thought was needed in Elk Grove,” Ryan said.

“She had the passion for it, so turning that idea into reality started with actually doing more of a pop-up business model where we would get books to our house until Emily created a website.”

Outside of helping the LGBTQIA+ community, Ryan also wants to assist other businesses.

“We were once a small pop-up vendor and so it’s really nice collaborating with other small business owners or other vendors, so that they could display their products,” Ryan said.

“It’s about the community and the other vendors that have supported us, and we want to support them as well.”

Christina Strother, the organization’s first customer before it was a store, originally spoke to the owners and helped them find a location to set up the shop. She said the values, the personal touch of the store and its welcoming atmosphere cater to a wide range of people.

“It’s definitely a good place to be and hang out, connect or even just reading or purchasing books,” Strother said. “They’re there to help support you, and I love that they have a lot of little vendor events as well.”

She said she appreciates the inclusivity, enjoying the variety of people from different age groups and ethnicities who visit. 

“I love the diversity of people that are at the store,” Strother said. “I love the fact that you see young, old, various ethnicities, cisgender, non-binary, trans and all sorts of people are welcomed and safe at that store.”

She described the store as a “warm and inviting place for everyone.”

Kelsey Campbell, another customer, has been coming to the store for a little less than a year. She originally heard about the bookstore from a local artist who consistently posted about A Seat at the Table Books, so she and her husband decided to check it out.

“We came and my partner loved it,” she said. “He ended up starting to come to open mics pretty regularly, so he now is a host sometimes for the open mics. It sort of became our home away from home.”

She said she especially appreciated the the pro-Palestinian content available in the store.

“Anywhere that is interested in having any pro Palestinian content and outreach and events is really important to my family,” Campbell said. “That was something that really drew us in, but it was really just being here and being so welcomed. It feels like you’re at home, it feels like a community.”

The bookstore’s broad selection of books is also a big draw.

“Their content and the curation that they do for their bookshelves is by far the best that I’ve seen in Sacramento because their bookshelves are incredibly diverse,” Campbell said. “There’s books here that I haven’t even ever seen before, and that’s such a treat, because too often you go into bookstores and see just the same New York Times bestsellers list or whatever, and they really do specifically curate to make sure that the shelves are as diverse and representative as possible.”

The bottom line, for Campbell and many others, is how the bookstore – and by extension, the Autenrieths – really do offer a seat at the table for anyone who wants to come through the doors.

“It’s not just about the people or books,” Campbell said. “It’s about knowing that there’s an amount of respect and care that’s being created and curated.”