We kicked off another year of DC VegFest by hosting the media party in the Guillén Room at Takoma to about 60 local and national influencers. For the last four years we’ve sponsored DC VegFest and have provided an overflowing buffet of various vegan foods from our catering and regular menu, like vegan “beef” sliders, vegan “tuna,” and house-made hummus with warm pita. Guests also got to try some experimental dishes that might hit our menu soon, like pulled jackfruit sliders and mini vegan corndogs.  Vegan rosé from our menu and beer from DogFish head were big hits.

See you at DC VegFest on September 15th at Yards Park in DC for the Busboys Beer Garden, Food Tent (vegan mac and cheese, anyone?), and Live Music Stage featuring live music performances and storytelling for families, and more.

Live Music Stage Line-Up:

Culture Queen: 11:10-Noon
Spread Love Brass Band: 12:30 pm- 1:30pm
Smile and Wave- Two 45 minute sets: 2 – 4pm
DJ Diyanna: 4:30-5:30pm

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

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Busboys and Poets Book Review: Anger is a Gift

Mark Oshiro’s contemporary YA fiction is an incredibly moving story about community, about love, and about taking a stand against prejudice and violence, even when it seems completely hopeless, and it is especially difficult to read. Especially for someone like me, caught up in my own privilege and ignorant of the struggles faced by people … Continued

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Cuba! Busboys and Poets Travel Tribe’s Cultural Exchange (July 2022)

Follow along for the Busboys and Poets Travel Tribe’s Cultural Exchange trip to Cuba (July 6-13, 2022) Wednesday, July 6, 2022 1. Heading to Cuba – The Charter Flight By Andy Shallal (@andyshallal CEO/Founder, Busboys and Poets) It is 5:30am. I am at the recently renovated National Airport. AKA Reagan. But for the name, this … Continued

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Jim Brown, Last Man Standing

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Jim Brown, Last Man Standing

In clear, fluid prose, Dave Zirin chronicles the life of legendary Cleveland Browns running back, Jim Brown, from his childhood in St. Simons Island, Georgia, raised by three women, through his NFL and Hollywood acting careers, to his cultural impact as a Black Power icon in the 1960s and beyond. Zirin reveals a complicated picture … Continued