Andrew Talks to Chefs SPECIAL REPORT #12: Matt Sartwell (Kitchen Arts & Letters) and Ken Concepcion (Now Serving) on Independent Bookselling during a Pandemic
During normal times, Kitchen Arts & Letters in New York City, and Now Serving in Los Angeles, are popular independent bookstores where cooks and chefs routinely spend hour after hour perusing new and classic books and adding to their collections. During this time of sheltering in place, both shops are closed to in-person visitors, but remain open and vital as mail-order sources. Much as restaurants have pivoted to take-away and delivery, these popular stores are going all-in on fulfilling remote orders. Andrew speaks with Now Serving's co-owner Ken Concepcion and Kitchen Arts & Letters' managing partner Matt Sartwell about what it's like keeping business rolling during a pandemic, what trends they've noticed during the shutdown, and what new titles personally excite them.
Our great thanks to S.Pelleggrino for making these special reports possible.
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Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.
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