The Woman Behind NYC’s First Asian American-Owned Bookstore

NYC is a town of firsts—a city where pioneering spirits make things happen. Yet, even as late as 2021, it still lacked a bookstore owned and operated by an Asian American woman.

Lucy Yu changed all that. Originally from LA, she fell in love with NYC while working on the East Coast, but sensed the city was missing something. So she decided to put this right, opening up her own bookstore and coffee shop – Yu & Me Books. This is the story of Lucy and her remarkable store.

Lucy’s Inspiration

It will be no surprise to discover that reading and literature have been lifelong passions for Lucy.

“As an only child, books became some of my best friends growing up,” Lucy said, in a 2024 interview with Penguin Random House. “I found so much friendship, love, and companionship in reading other stories, and it was an accessible way to travel outside of my life & perspective at any moment.”

Lucy’s educational and professional background was diverse. She had worked in chemical engineering and supply chain management, which took her from Los Angeles to New York City. She was working in NYC when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and her lifelong love of literature resurfaced—she began dreaming of owning and operating a bookstore in the city.

“After we have all experienced so much grief [due to Covid] in the last few years,” Lucy said. “I have come to the realization that life is short, and I wanted to focus on starting a community bookstore that would bring me the most joy.”

The Dream Becomes a Reality

Yu & Me Books opened in December 2021. Situated on Mulberry Street in NYC’s Chinatown, it became the first bookstore of its kind in New York. For Lucy, it was both a cultural statement and a personal one.

“I always wanted to see stories like mine, my mother, and my grandmother on the front shelves at bookstores,” Lucy explained. As anti-Asian hate crimes increased in the wake of the pandemic, the need for a bookstore run by an Asian American woman became all the more acute.

“The name is first and foremost a pun with my last name, Yu, in it,” she said. “I wanted to have a name that emphasized the conversations and communication I would love for people to have with each other in the store. It is the act of sharing stories between you and me that I was aching for.”

However, the name also represents Lucy’s family identity:

“In addition, the initials YM are my mother’s initials because I couldn’t have created this without all that she’s gone through raising me as a single mother.”

As for the name, it reflects the spirit of outreach and connection that Lucy wanted to explore with the store.

A Tragic Turn for the Store

By July 4th, 2023, Yu & Me books had been open for barely 18 months. On that day, the story very nearly came to an end, in extremely tragic circumstances.

A fire broke out in a residential apartment above the store on Mulberry Street. In the ensuing blaze, a man named Frank Yee lost his life, and the entire building suffered severe damage.

Lucy needed significant investment to get the bookstore back up and running. She began a GoFundMe, seeking $80,000 to rebuild and renovate the store, and $60,000 to replace the books lost in the fire—$140,000 in total.

The reaction was huge. Buoyed by support from authors like Celeste Ng, Yu’s campaign raised more than $230,000 in just one day. Around 6,800 people eventually donated to the cause, raising almost $370,000.

After seven months of closure, the store reopened in January 2024. Its continued success stands as a testament to Lucy Yu’s resilience and dedication, as well as a tribute to building resident Frank Yee, who lost his life in the fire.

Yu & Me in the Community

Yu & Me only needed to be a bookstore. As a pioneering business, this is already a huge milestone for New York and its Asian American community. And yet, the store is actually much more than this.

It is a coffee shop and meeting place—somewhere visitors from all over the city, country, and even the world, can sit, chat, and connect. It’s also an event space, hosting readings and discussions that explore the rich and complex landscape of writing and literature.

“One of my favorites was an event that just happened recently with Neema Avashia who wrote Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place,” Lucy said.

“Hearing her read from her book just really brought the book to life in a way that was so magical. The conversations that we had during the event were so thoughtful, raw, honest, and warming.”

The ideas of conversation, connection, and discussion are key to what the Yu & Me Book is all about. For a project that came so close to disaster, the future is now looking very bright indeed.