Busboys and Poets facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Busboys and Poets |
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View of Busboys and Poets' exterior seating
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | September 7, 2005 |
| Current owner(s) | Anas "Andy" Shallal |
| Food type | American |
| Dress code | Casual |
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 38°55′4.5″N 77°1′54″W / 38.917917°N 77.03167°W |
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Busboys and Poets is a full-service restaurant, bar, bookstore, coffee shop, and events venue in Washington, D.C., founded in 2005 by Andy Shallal. The original Busboys and Poets is located at 14th & V in the U Street Corridor. There are now seven locations in the DC area: A second location opened in Shirlington, Virginia in 2007; a third location opened in DC's Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood in 2008; a fourth in Hyattsville, Maryland opened in July 2011; a fifth at DC's Brookland neighborhood opened in 2014; a sixth opened in DC/Maryland's Takoma neighborhood in 2015; and a seventh location opened in DC's historic Anacostia neighborhood in early 2019. It has been described as a haven for writers, thinkers and performers from America's progressive social and political movements.
Establishment
The first Busboys and Poets lies two blocks from U Street, a commercial corridor in Northwest Washington, known as "Black Broadway" in its heyday. Concerned that his creation of a trendy artistic space would clash with U Street's traditional identity, Shallal reached out for support from community leaders, neighborhood groups, church organizations, schools and radio stations prior to opening the location. Shallal obtained a loan from black-owned Industrial Bank, located at 11th and U streets.
The name refers to American poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1930s, prior to gaining recognition as a poet. Rejected ideas for the restaurant's name include Writers Block Cafe, Broken Bread Cafe and White Rabbit Cafe, the latter inspired by The Matrix.
Shallal painted the giant civil rights movement-themed mural covering one wall of the restaurant, titled Peace in Struggle Wall. He refuses to sign the mural, saying this would be a "final gesture" that would preclude him from making revisions later. The collage depicts civil rights icons including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. It features the words of Langston Hughes, "Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be."
