In its 2016 Best of Baltimore series, City Paper names Red Emma's Best Bookstore. The paper's commentary, in its entirety:
If woke was a place, it would probably be Red Emma's. Not only is the combination bookstore and coffeehouse packed with plenty of books and zines to help open your mind--the staff schedules so many author talks, poetry readings, and political discussions that we could probably dedicate a whole section of our calendar just to their stuff. The store supports independent, noncorporate book publishers and distributors--a welcome relief in a world of Barnes & Nobles. Plus, the worker cooperative has spoken out in favor of raising the minimum wage. "We believe that working people deserve work at a living wage with dignity," worker-owners John Duda, Ava Pipitone, and Cullen Nawalkowsky wrote in a Baltimore Sun op-ed in July.