Books and Coffee for ‘Yu and Me’ on Mulberry Street
Photo: Apple Maps
There is an apparent trend of small boutique bookstores opening downtown. Last year saw the arrival of Sweet Pickle Books on Orchard Street, marrying the written word with briny treats; there is also the Common Books pushcart roving the neighborhood; and next month, it’s Yu and Me Books.
Lucy Yu is amidst transforming a former Chinatown funeral supply store into a bookstore-cum-cafe. The Mulberry Street newcomer focuses on the “strong, diverse voices of our community,” but especially immigrant stories.
Yu and Me Books will serve a variety of coffees and ethnic snacks such as sesame balls, chocolate buns, and red bean buns.
“My hope is to create a home that I never found in a bookstore growing up,” Yu wrote in a GoFundMe appeal earlier this year.
Yu seeks a beer-wine license at 44 Mulberry, for which Community Board 3 already fast-tracked due to agreement on standard stipulations (e.g. midnight closing all days). Her application notes that the bookstore will maintain a “quiet and relaxed environment for patrons who want to read.”
Upon opening, Yu and Me will be the first Asian-American female owned bookstore-cafe-bar open in Manhattan.
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