Grab a date and share our white chocolate bread pudding with local coconut ice cream. If your date is vegan, split our vegan cheesecake!

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The Making of Busboys and Poets

A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets

We’re proud to announce A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets, the new memoir from our CEO and Founder, which reveals the vision, challenges, and triumphs behind opening Busboys and Poets. Packed with misadventures, unexpected triumphs, and insights on race, business and politics, Andy Shallal’s memoir takes us on a “How I Built … Continued

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For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday

Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals.  He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.”  … Continued

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Palestine Week 2024

January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued

Busboys in En Route Traveler

Busboys in En Route Traveler

“Part of the reason why I founded this place was that I wanted a space that feels like home away from home, a space that represents the multi-cultural, multi ethnic, multi-racial, and multi-age aspects of the city, a space that represents the city that I live in – Washington, DC.” – Andy Shallal

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Everest Base Camp #13

Seeing is believing. I worry that I’ve seen too much. The beauty of everything around me can be overwhelming. I am in a constant state of awe. I worry about how the world will look when this ends in less than 10 days. For now, I am setting that worry aside and will cross that … Continued