Buy All Your Cookbooks from BEM books & more
Last updated on January 24th, 2026 at 08:05 pm
Brooklyn is now home to one of the first Black food bookstores in the U.S., BEM books & more.
Cofounders Gabrielle & Danielle Davenport opened this Black owned bookstore in Bed-Stuy in early October 2025 after several years of pop ups, special events, collaborations and selling books online.
Their focus is on culinary literature and cookbooks by Black authors as well as foodways of the African diaspora.
“We believe that all the most interesting, dynamic and important conversations start with food. So, it really is the lens in which we approach a wide range of cultural conversations that we are excited to steward in our new home” says Danielle during their pitch at the 2025 Food Funded East event for founders and investors.
Books pictured above: American Soul by Anela Malik, Recipes from the American South by Michael W. Twitty and Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset.
In 2024, the Davenport sisters raised over $75,000 from more than 640 supporters on Kickstarter and they are currently raising on Wefunder to complete the buildout of their brick and mortar location.
Located at the corner of Lewis Avenue and Macon Street, BEM | books is more than a bookstore. It serves as a culinary hub for communities to gather for:
- drinks from the cafe
- book talks and other literary programming in the reading room
- chef-led cooking classes in the test kitchen
How to support BEM books even if you don’t live in Brooklyn
There are several ways to support this Brooklyn Black owned bookstore and you don’t have to live in Bed-Stuy:
- Order books, merch & gift certificates online and have them shipped to your home in the U.S.
- Sign up for the newsletter and share it with other food folks
- Consider investing in BEM books on WeFunder
Visit BEM books & more
Address: 373 Lewis Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11233
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