BEM, a bookstore focused on Black food literature that debuted online in 2021, has signed a lease for a bricks-and-mortar location in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eater reported.
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| Gabrielle and Danielle Davenport | |
Founders and sisters Gabrielle and Danielle Davenport have found a space at 373 Lewis Ave. in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy neighborhood and are planning for a fall opening. The bookstore will focus not only on cookbooks but also on literature in which food plays a prominent or interesting role, with all titles written by Black authors.
In addition, BEM will have a kitchen and bar counter. Customers will be able to order pastries, coffee, snack plates, and drinks, while the Davenports will be able to host supper clubs, cooking classes, and other culinary events.
The Davenports have been working toward opening BEM for a long time. They had always planned on having a bricks-and-mortar space and created a business plan for the bookstore in September 2019, as part of the Brooklyn Public Library's PowerUP program. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, forced them to debut as an online bookstore.
Per Eater, the Davenports had been eyeing the space at 373 Lewis Ave., which previously housed a Danish and Colombian cafe, since about 2022. At the time, though, the owner wouldn't rent it, which led to the Davenports launching a Kickstarter campaign early last year to help them open in a different space.
Although the campaign proved successful, the space was not ideal, and the Davenports returned to the 373 Lewis Ave. space, this time trying to buy it with a Small Business Administration Loan. The owner then decided not to sell, but did finally offer a lease.
One benefit to the long wait, Danielle Davenport noted, is that it has allowed them to develop a strong following and cultivate a community.