TAKOMA

GobblenStop
Ghosts, Goblins and Ghastly Ghouls join us in the Nicolás Guillén room for Goblin Stop. Before, during or after trick or treating enjoy a delicious Busboys and Poets dinner and some Halloween fun with us at our Takoma Location!

HYATTSVILLE

HalloweenMovie

BROOKLAND

HallopenMic

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

Cuba Week Deck

Busboys and Poets Cuba Week 2022

October 15, 2022 – October 22, 2022 Join us at Busboys and Poets for Cuba Week 2022 as we celebrate the food, art, and culture of Cuba! Come and experience the authentic taste of Cuba at Busboys and Poets! We’ve partnered with the Embassy of Cuba’s head chef to bring you four very special dishes … Continued

On Censorship by Salman Rushdie

On Censorship by Salman Rushdie

No writer ever really wants to talk about censorship. Writers want to talk about creation, and censorship is anti-creation, negative energy, uncreation, the bringing into being of non-being, or, to use Tom Stoppard’s description of death, “the absence of presence.” Censorship is the thing that stops you doing what you want to do, and what writers want to talk about is what they do, not what stops them doing it.

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