A BIPOC-focused bookstore and maker’s space is opening on Vliet Street

A children’s bookstore and maker’s space is opening at the end of January on W. Vliet St. 

Rooted MKE at 5312 W. Vliet St. will be split between a bookstore focused on stories by or about Black, Indigenous and people of color and a maker’s space for crafts and tutoring. 

Ashley Marie Valentine, a Milwaukee native, plans to open Rooted MKE Jan. 29. 

The bookstore is about 375 square feet while the maker’s space is about 400 square feet. 

Valentine previously was a teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools and then worked at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. She left the Boys and Girls Club when she was pregnant with her second child last year.