The History of a Crown Height’s Bookstore 

Café Con Libros of Crown Heights, Brooklyn was founded in 2017 by social activist, new mother, teacher, and Afro-Latinx woman, Kalima Desuze. She grew up in Crown Heights and is remarkably familiar with the neighborhood full of busy restaurants and bars. The neighborhood has many immigrants and is mixed with various cultures that Desuze urges people to celebrate. Her goals were to open a joyful space in Crown Heights that fostered her lifelong interest in literature and intersectional- feminism, and her love of coffee with an enjoyable book. The store carries literature written by authors from diverse backgrounds, classical, and more contemporary. Desuze is a veteran whose time in the military made her realize the importance of being around people you are not usually around and learning from them. Forming diverse and understanding communities is something she strives to do daily at her bookstore. After receiving degrees in social work and actively working with survivors of domestic abuse and war veterans, she decided to open a business away from her established career. The name Café Con Libros comes from a dish from Panama called Café Con Leches, which is a part of her culture and one of her favorite dishes. The store was inspired by her own joy brought on by literature. Her philosophy is that a person needs to build their own life before building a career, so that the joy and passion that is unique to the individual is expressed as fully as possible in their career choice. It was especially important for Kalima Desuze to open her shop by herself when she was ready. Through business podcasts and books, and solo travels Kalima gained knowledge about what it means to open your own business and the coffee culture of Ethiopia.  

To build community and accessibility to literature for locals and those coming to visit thew bookstore Kalima sells books for much less than the suggested retail price and gifts books to children to build a sense of family at the store and inspire a love for reading in the neighborhood. The feminist book club held in Café Con Libros first began meeting in January of 2018 and The Womxn of Color Book Club started in December of 2019. These literary events are held, and attendance is organically generated by word of mouth and social media. These events draw in regulars to the store and new book lovers looking for a community to be a part of. Both book clubs meet once a month on the last Sunday. I’ve made a timeline that shows how quickly things pick up for this bookstore in such little time.  

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Purchases are “influenced by how the bookseller conceives of her proper relationship with her customers. More specifically, a bookseller’s judgements about what books to carry and sell are shaped by the extent to which she sees herself as rightfully taking an active role in guiding the reading of her customers,” (Miller 55). This take on bookselling reminds me a lot of Café con Libros because Kalima Desuze makes an effort to build a book loving community that is inclusive and carries many books by women and people of color. Miller explains today’s view on bookselling when she writes: “Today the notion that the bookseller should not interfere with consumers’ legitimate right to enjoy any book that suits their tastes is widespread,” (Miller 61). I don’t think Kalima is trying to convince people to stop reading certain books, but instead, create a bookstore that highlights certain types of books. In Café Con Libros’ case, their focus is feminist literature and authors with diverse backgrounds. This approach works particularly well for Café Con Libros because it is located in Crown Heights which is populated by many immigrants with distinct cultural backgrounds. Specialized and niche bookstores are very important in tofay’s homogenized world. Big stores that sell every book ever written, may be succcessful business wise, but may fall short in terms of creating a community for similar types of people. What is important to the customer is entirely unique, so the choice to visit an independet bookstore or a chain bookstore is made based on individual interest. I think Café con Libros is needed in addition to other independent bookstores because they have a specialized interest that creates a unique and loving community of readers.  

Work Cited 

“Café Con Libros.” Medium, medium.com/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023. 

Miller, Laura J. “Sovereign Customer.” Reluctant Capitalists Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2014. 

Saraniero, Nicole, et al. “Secrets of New York.” Untapped New York, 5 Mar. 2021, untappedcities.com/. 

“American Express Credit Cards, Rewards & Banking.” American Express Credit Cards, Rewards & Banking, www.americanexpress.com/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023. 

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