BookstoreChinatown
Yu & Me
A beloved Chinatown bookstore celebrating Asian and Asian American voices, community, and the joy of finding your next favorite book.
Photo by Effie Liu for Beholdr
Walk in With Us
We rarely leave Yu & Me with just one book. It's that kind of place.
The shelves are among the most thoughtful downtown: fiction, poetry, memoir, criticism, and graphic novels by Asian and Asian American writers, front and center. The store is woven into the block. Step out and Chinatown unfolds around you, Columbus Park on one side and some of the best dumplings below Canal a few doors down. A bar sits in the back, and a calendar is packed with readings and conversations. The kind of room where you walk in for a book and end up part of a perspective-shifting conversation. A whole afternoon, disguised as a bookstore run.
About the Bookstore
Lucy Yu is a former chemical engineer who left supply-chain work to chase a lifelong dream. She opened Yu & Me - named for her mother - in December 2021, the first Asian American woman–owned bookstore in New York. Her mission is to pour light on immigrant stories and build a community hub where voices are heard.
Featured In
Routes and collections this place belongs to
In The Area
BakeryChinatown
Alimama Tea
Everyone flocks here for mochi donuts with glazes glittery as fresh-polished nails. All gluten-free, and owner Janie Wang is building an empire one ring at a time.
BarChinatown
The River
Designed by the Green River Project, this is a downtown saloon for art locals. Wood-lined and moody, it's got a mural of the Hudson River above the bar and chairs made from Old Quaker furniture salvaged Upstate.
RestaurantChinatown
Mei Lai Wah
Order a baked roast pork bun and rice noodle rolls and congee at this no-frills, always delicious Chinese spot. Yes there’s a line, yes it’s worth the wait.
BakeryChinatown
Keki
Bouncy cheesecakes literally lighter than air — subtle sweetness, that jiggle no one can get enough of. Hence the lines out the door.