Branching off the widespread push toward natural foods, organic and biodynamic wines — which are made without chemicals from grapes grown according to the cycles of the moon — have taken off in major cities, landing in Downtown Tampa at Lector Social Club. The wine shop and art venue is named for the lectores in the early Ybor City cigar factories, who read the news, poetry and other literature to the cigar rollers. Lector sells a range of natural, biodynamic and organic wines that are curated and paired with books and poetry from their in-house lending library. “After recently moving back to Tampa from Brooklyn, where there are numerous places to experience both the written word and natural wine, I quickly recognized a gap to be filled and jumped at the opportunity,” says owner Micheal Hooker. The club also serves as a gathering space for lectures, classes, readings and other community events. Each month, Lector also hosts one local or visiting writer or visual artist in residence (including Laura Eliason, who painted the mural outside the shop seen above) to help bolster Tampa’s cultural exchange.
WHAT TO KNOW: 305 E. Polk St. | lectorsocialclub.com | @lectorsocialclub
