BY KAREN TANG – By fall 2015, Washington, D.C. based bookstore Politics and Prose is expected to assume book selling responsibilities at Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville. The bookstore will be taking over book retail operations at all but one of the area’s Busboy and Poets restaurants.
The idea to join forces came from Busboys and Poets’ proprietor, Andy Shallal. Shallal met the co-owners of Politics and Prose, Bradley Graham Lissa Muscatine, at a dinner party through a mutual friend. He proposed the partnership soon after.
“We do restaurants and gathering places really well. They do books really well, and the two are a good combination,” Shallal said.
Politics and Prose has thirty years of experience in selling books, and the independent bookstore is known nationally and internationally in book circles. According to their websites, both companies share a commitment to building community service, providing quality customer service and promoting a public discussion.
By the time Politics and Prose opens in Hyattsville, the co-owners say, they will have a sense of what is the best way to operate in a primarily restaurant-type setting. The first two flagship locations, one in Brookland and one in Takoma Park, will open in December of this year and January 2015 respectively. Eventually, Politics and Prose flagships will be located at all Busboys locations except the 14th and V space, where the nonprofit Teaching for Change will continue to operate.
