SPOTLIGHT: Yu and Me Books | Manhattan

Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. We encourage our readers to join us in supporting these stakeholders who help to advance local economic, social, and environmental growth.

This month, we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month. Our Spotlight series will feature AAPI entrepreneurs making a mark across our city. We begin with Lucy Yu, a chemical engineer and supply chain manager with a lifelong dream of owning a bookstore that represents her heritage and cultural experiences. In 2021, during the rise of Asian-American hate that transpired during the pandemic, Yu realized her dream with the opening of Yu and Me Books. The first Asian American woman owned bookstore in Manhattan’s Chinatown, all books, new and used, are handpicked by Yu who aims to showcase a wide range of immigrant stories.

While the shop itself is relatively new, it’s attracting attention from locals all over the city. Yu and Me Books offers a wonderful selection of titles over a myriad of genres, all with a focus on amplifying the voices of Asian American authors, chefs, and storytellers of all kinds. The bookstore also offers a variety of coffee and tea, with the addition of food and alcoholic beverages on the way! Guests can persue the shop’s website to check out upcoming events that include signings, lectures, and introductions with authors!

If this sounds like your kind of bookstore, then go to their website to take a look at their café menu, or their full selection of books, and you can even pre-order upcoming arrivals. If you are too busy to stop by in person, you can order online and Yu and Me Books also offers many of their titles as audiobooks. We encourage you to check them out on Instagram as well to keep up with events, new arrivals, and announcements. So, as we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month why not consider visiting Yu and Me Books and diving into a story that will take you on a cultural journey. When you get there, be sure to tell them Broadway Stages sent you.