Bol Worker Owned Bookstore Cafe

Bol Worker Owned Bookstore Cafe Washington DC's first worker owned cafe and bookstore coming soon in Fall 2021.

Its business model is based on the ideas of racial equity and economic democracy where every worker has a path to ownership Housed in an existing cafe (Creative Grounds) where you can get hot and cold beverages and snacks

We are excited to announce an incredible workshop experience with Lilac Peril and M.K Thekkumkattil at Bol Co-op! The me...
10/05/2026

We are excited to announce an incredible workshop experience with Lilac Peril and M.K Thekkumkattil at Bol Co-op!

The medical industrial complex fails those giving, receiving, and in need of care. This workshop builds off the work in the essay collection, “The Sexuality of Care: On Nursing, Kink, and a Future Without Hospitals,” by M. K. Thekkumkattil, a trans, disabled, kinky writer and nurse. It borrows practices from kink culture to imagine what consensual, negotiated, pleasurable care could look and feel like. Participants will discuss and write about their experiences as a tool to imagine liberatory care futures.

MASKS REQUIRED AT THIS EVENT!!

We will have select availability of masks on site. Bol Co-op is located next to Brookland-CUA metro, an accessible metro with elevators and escalators. The door is 33 inches wide and we have a swinging garage-like door for access as well.

Please RSVP at the events page linked in our bio!! We are excited to be in community with you!

Join PEN America and Hindus for Human Rights in conjunction with the Open Gov Hub for a literary salon featuring the wor...
10/02/2026

Join PEN America and Hindus for Human Rights in conjunction with the Open Gov Hub for a literary salon featuring the work of incarcerated student-activist Umar Khalid and other writings that explore themes of activism, social movements, and the power of the written word.

What: Literary salon with delicious food and drinks
When: Tuesday, October 6th from 5 to 7 p.m.
Location: Open Gov Hub
1100 13th St NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005

Arrested in September 2020 under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Umar Khalid faces charges connected to the alleged larger conspiracy surrounding the 2020 Delhi riots. His continued incarceration has drawn concerns from human rights organizations and advocates over prolonged pretrial detention and the criminalization of dissent. Khalid’s case offers an opportunity to examine the risks faced by writer-activists who use their voices to challenge discriminatory policies, advocate for marginalized communities, and participate in movements for social change.
In recognition of Banned Books Week, we will explore how literature can document injustice, preserve contested histories, and create space for voices targeted by censorship and repression.
If you feel inclined, bring a poem, a short reading, a limerick, or haiku relating to the evening’s theme – protest or read one of Mr Khalid’s. We will welcome a few guests to share excerpts that inspire them during the evening. You can indicate your interest on the RSVP form - see our events link in bio.

The September Bol Feminist Book Club meeting has been moved to Friday, October 2nd from 730-830. Come to discuss the bri...
09/21/2026

The September Bol Feminist Book Club meeting has been moved to Friday, October 2nd from 730-830. Come to discuss the brilliant feminist writer and scholar Nawal El-Saadawi. Hope to see you soon!

It’s also not too late to sign up for a very important and thought-provoking event this upcoming weekend!! “Where do we...
09/18/2026

It’s also not too late to sign up for a very important and thought-provoking event this upcoming weekend!!

“Where do we go from here? What is to be done?”

We welcome Maryam Kashani, an associate professor in Gender and Women’s Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to explore these questions with the Bol community.

After a week of 9/11 and Forever War commemorations and conferences, let‘s reflect, take stock, and plan. What lessons from our ancestors must we carry forward and what has gotten in the way? Taking histories from Medina by the Bay and beyond, Kashani will lead/facilitate a conversation towards producing new and necessary scenes of study and (more than) survival.

We are excited to announce that we are hosting two incredible poets reading from their debut collections!Caleb Nolen wil...
09/18/2026

We are excited to announce that we are hosting two incredible poets reading from their debut collections!

Caleb Nolen will read from Afterlight, selected by Jennifer Chang for the Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry. Christian Wessels will read from Who Follow the Gleam, winner of the 2025 Juniper Prize in Poetry. There will be a 50 minute reading period with a Q&A to follow.

Please join us at Bol Co-op for an evening of beautiful poetry, contemplation, and good conversation!

Check out our events page to RSVP!

Join us for the first-ever DC Kids Garba! We’ll have garba & raas lessons for kids and adults, dancing, music, crafts, s...
09/17/2026

Join us for the first-ever DC Kids Garba! We’ll have garba & raas lessons for kids and adults, dancing, music, crafts, snacks and refreshments. We look forward to making this an inclusive event for people of all faiths and genders.

The event will be on October 4, 2026 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Festival Center in Adams Morgan. We will teach garba and raas - no prior experience needed*
Proceeds will be donated to local immigrant justice efforts.

Many thanks to Bol Co-Op (DC’s first worker-owned bookstore and community space) and Hindus for Human Rights (an anti-caste & pluralist progressive Hindu organization), for their partnership.

*for those who do know garba/raas and would be willing to help teach, please let us know!

Check our events link in bio to register!

Join us at Bol on September 18th at 7 pm for a night of laughter at Marcela Onyango ‘s stand up tour “I Hate Capitalism!...
09/07/2026

Join us at Bol on September 18th at 7 pm for a night of laughter at Marcela Onyango ‘s stand up tour “I Hate Capitalism!”

Join us for an engaging discussion with Anny Gaul about her book Nile Nightshade: An Egyptian Culinary History of the To...
09/06/2026

Join us for an engaging discussion with Anny Gaul about her book Nile Nightshade: An Egyptian Culinary History of the Tomato.

By the end of the twentieth century, the tomato—indigenous to the Americas—had become Egypt’s top horticultural crop and a staple of Egyptian cuisine. The tomato brought together domestic consumers, cookbook readers, and home cooks through a shared culinary culture that sometimes transcended differences of class, region, gender, and ethnicity—and sometimes reinforced them.

In Nile Nightshade, Anny Gaul shows how Egyptians’ embrace of the tomato and the emergence of Egypt’s modern national identity were both driven by the modernization of the country’s food system. Drawing from cookbooks, archival materials, oral histories, and vernacular culture, Gaul follows this commonplace food into the realms of domestic policy and labor through the hands of Egypt’s overwhelmingly female home cooks. As they wrote recipes and cooked meals, these women forged key aspects of public culture that defined how Egyptians recognized themselves and one another as Egyptian.

Anny will be in conversation with Remon Henes.

Anny Gaul is a food historian. Her food writing has appeared in Eater and ArabLit Quarterly and her scholarship has been published in numerous scholarly journals. She is also the co-editor of Making Levantine Cuisine: Modern Foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean, a collection of essays and recipes, and she blogs atopen_in_new Cooking with Gaul.

Remon Henes is an Egyptian-American award-winning filmmaker, creative producer, and founder of Dot Lemon, a film production company. With over 18 years of experience in documentary and visual media, his work focuses on human-centered narratives that connect culture, community, and place. Deeply connected to his Egyptian roots, Remon is especially passionate about storytelling around food, culture, and identity.

Books are available for sale at Bol Co-op.

Register using the events link in our bio.

09/05/2026

Drop by Bol and pick up a new book this weekend! We have a great selection of books on labor and economic justice.

In September, the Bol Feminist Book Club is reading Walking through Fire, the memoir of renowned Egyptian writer, physic...
09/04/2026

In September, the Bol Feminist Book Club is reading Walking through Fire, the memoir of renowned Egyptian writer, physician, and feminist Dr. Nawal El Saadawi. Join us to discuss her extraordinary life, groundbreaking work, and enduring legacy of speaking truth to power.
PDF will be shared after event registration!

Address

Creative Grounds. 1822 N Capitol Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20002

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

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