Nestled in the corner of a small, brick store is a commercial-sized, top-loading beverage cooler.
But instead of soda, juice and water, it’s stacked almost to the brim with books. Some are in mint condition; some are slightly worn.
The four closely packed aisles are stocked with snacks, canned goods and cleaning supplies. Four drink fridges line a wall facing the checkout counter.
To a passing customer, the books might seem out of place. To the regulars, they’ve become a staple.
Allen’s Grocery sits on the corner of Lawrence and Stephenson streets in South Dallas, near Elsie Faye Heggins Street. For six decades, it has been the go-to spot to get a cold drink or a quick bite to eat.
In recent years, it also has doubled as a community library, prompted by a conversation between a mother and her 3-year-old son.
“What’s something that we do for fun that doesn’t cost money?” Nelly Cuenca asked her son, Bean.
“We read every day,” he said.
Cuenca is the founder of MaaPaa, a nonprofit that supports single mothers raising sons. The organization provides material goods and facilitates emotional-support groups, in addition to other services, to families in need.
When she heard Bean’s answer, she asked how they could further support the MaaPaa moms.
“We can make a library,” Bean said.
Cuenca tried to think of a way to gently reject her son’s idea. There was no way the two of them could start a library. They didn’t even have a building. That didn’t stop Bean.
Bean spent a lot of time at Allen’s because his grandmother, Silvina Nohemi Cuenca, has worked there for almost 20 years.
One day, he asked his grandmother if he could claim a corner of the store for the library. She gave him the OK, thinking nothing of it.
But soon after, her grandson showed up to the store with 10 books he had outgrown. Then Nelly Cuenca recorded a video of Bean asking for donations and shared it on social media.
“It went viral,” she said.
“People started clearing out their own closets and bringing out books. Before you know it, we had given out 5,000 books.”
Stocked with books
Although Allen’s was already a neighborhood landmark, it quickly transformed into a mini-community center. It became the home of regular reading circles for both kids in the area and children of MaaPaa moms.
LaJuana McQueen, who grew up a few blocks away from Allen’s, saw the library grow from its inception. At the beginning, the few donated books sat near the register. McQueen noticed because she stopped there often to pick up after-school snacks for her nieces.
It didn’t take long for the girls to start asking to go to the store for more books. McQueen also took her 2-year-old grandson to the reading circles before the pandemic put them on pause.
“There’s a lot of kids in the neighborhood now,” McQueen said. “For them to have the opportunity to go and get books and have something to read, that’s the best.”
Martin Luther King Branch Library is the closest to the grocery store. For those who don’t have a library card or transportation for the 2-mile trip, Bean’s book spot is the perfect solution.
Nelly Cuenca tells patrons to keep the books because they get so many donations, but most people return them for others to enjoy.
The viral video of Bean, now 5 years old, has since died down, but the donations haven’t stopped.
Nelly Cuenca connected with Aidee Lomeli through LinkedIn. The Fort Worth resident used to work for the Boys and Girls Club and she finds donors in Dallas and beyond to collect books by the carload.
When the two first spoke, Nelly Cuenca told her how the mini-library had come about.
Lomeli now asks people she knows for book donations and brings them with her whenever she drives to Dallas.
“I know people who have kids, and as the kids get older, you clear out books and sometimes you just don’t know what to do with them,” she said.
Bean’s dreams
The library inspired the Cuencas to further their literature ventures. Nelly Cuenca and Bean are co-authoring a book that will be published this fall. It’s the first in what Nelly Cuenca calls a “Bean series.”
Because Bean is homeschooled, he spends a lot of time listening to his mother’s virtual calls and seminars. Once, after she left a meeting about mental health, Bean asked about bipolar disorder.
“Then I recognized, how many people are talking to their kids about mental health?” she asked.
“That’s how this little series came about. They’re going to be short reads, maybe 14 pages. But they’re all based on real-life conversations that I’ve had with my son.”
Once their first book publishes, Bean can cross off a goal on the white board in his room: Become an author before age 10. His other aspirations are more long-term: travel to space, become a pilot and be president.
One of his mother’s many goals is to expand the community library initiative throughout southern Dallas.
“If there is a mom-and-pop shop in 75217 or 75228, they can call us and say, ‘Hey, we have space. Bring your books,’” Nelly Cuenca said.
She added that Bean’s library has had more than just an impact on the community.
Her son has taught her not to wait to pursue her dreams.
“If you truly want to do something, you can do it now,” she said.
“Align yourself with the people that are going to lift you up and make that a reality.”
