11 Culinary Bookstores You Need To Visit Across The US

Love food, cooking, and cookbooks? Whether you're planning a big old bucket list trip, a one-time destination visit, or you happen to live nearby a place on this list, we've got you covered for all the biggest culinary bookstores and gastronomical antiques in the country. We're talking more cookbooks, vintage housewares, and hand-written recipes than you can shake a spatula at. Fast-paced, digital, and untouchable are the antithesis of what we're looking for here. Your journey might encompass more than the US, but we're using it as a starting point before you set off to discover cookbooks elsewhere, like La Librairie Gourmande, the beautiful Paris culinary bookstore.

Since 2012, the number of bookstores in the US has dropped from 16,454 to 7,173 in 2020, the pandemic's peak. As of 2022, the number has rebounded slightly to 9,865 (as per IBIS World.) However, this statistic only considers bookstores as a whole; the numbers for culinary specialty stores across the country are likely much lower. In recent years, cookbook-only bookstores have decreased, leaving us struggling to find more than 10 left across the country. Covid, the possibility of buying anything and everything online, and the advent of questionable influencer recipes on social media have made us less than likely to leave our cozy abodes in search of culinary artifacts. But, at the same time, it's given us a reason to go back to our old-school roots. Hands-on, printed cookbooks are back in vogue, baby.

Specializing in antique culinary books and gastronomical writings, Ben Kinmont opened Ben Kinmont Bookseller in 1998 as an art project that examined typical art gallery structures and how it affects artists' financial independence — as he himself needed a way to support his family as a working artist. He found that antique books were the answer. Even if you're not necessarily into the intersection of the arts and economics, this bookstore is still a treasure trove for anyone looking for rare culinary works and the occasional interesting artifact, like a 15th-century Scottish spurtle utensil.

Having moved the shop from New York City to Sebastopol, California, in 2003, Ben Kinmont Bookseller continues to operate as an extension of Ben Kinmont's art practice (as per Les Presses Du Réel) but is also a legitimately knowledgable dealer of hard-to-find tomes on food and wine from the 15th to 19th centuries. A brighter and more airy space than many on the list, it isn't cramped with floor-to-ceiling stacks of books. Rather, Kinmont's art background definitely gives the shop a gallery-like quality. And much like any art gallery worth its salt, visits are by appointment only.

Are you looking for something a little homier? Maybe someplace cozy, with walls filled with spiral-bound, community fundraising cookbooks, or a place that Atlas Obscura describes as housing entire volumes on 70's canapes and even everything fondue? Bonnie Slotnick Books opened in 1997 and has spent the last 25 years collecting out-of-print or retro cookbooks that, frankly, remind us of our youth. Slotnick also carries modern works that she picks up through customers, estate sales, and other large-volume purchases, as the majority of the stock is second-hand.

The small shop, located in New York's East Village, is also lovingly packed with all sorts of homewares that continue the kitschy and charming theme; much of it is sweetly nostalgia-inducing. And as we've said before, you shouldn't discredit older cookbooks, especially if you're a new cook; those heavy tomes cover more of the basics than most more recent books. Slotnick cherishes the interaction between her customers and her wares, seeing the excitement at finding something forgotten. The joy of finding a particularly nostalgic cookbook for a customer is what matters most to her, adding that the human connection can't be found on Amazon (via Thrillist.) 

Often cited as the first culinary bookstore in the US, Manhattan's Kitchen Arts & Letters was, and still is, thought of as the center of the American cookbook universe. Opened by Nach Waxman in 1983, the philosophy has been cooks first, publishers second. The bookstore asserts that the employees will always tell customers the truth about the books carried in the store rather than appeasing publishers, accomplishing this with aplomb and good-natured humor. And unlike many of the entries on this list, Kitchen Arts & Letters focuses on just one thing, books. There's no bar — espresso, cocktail, snack, or otherwise. Shelf after shelf of meticulously organized cookbooks and tomes on food culture is the aesthetic here.

Waxman's love for food history and culture, carried on by his family and staff after his passing in 2021, is showcased in the stacks of books available in the store. One of the larger entries on the list, this Lexington avenue institution is known for the great care taken in helping customers find exactly what they're looking for, often disappearing into the cavernous basement to look for something specific. The shop is especially adored by food service professionals for practical information as well as stunning inspiration (as per Total Food).

Chef Ken Concepcion and makeup artist Michelle Mungcal own Now Serving, a small but gorgeous storefront in LA's Chinatown's Far East Plaza. Since 2018, the two have stocked a venerable selection of cookbooks, independent food magazines, and superb specialty food items. And not to take away from the cookbook theme, but the ceramics Now Serving offers are out of this world stunning; Mungcal takes credit for making sure the bookstore doesn't look "too much like a library" (via The LA Times). But their specialty is absolutely food and cookbooks — looking for something out of print? This store can help with that, too. Book signings and author conversations also happen on a regular basis.

Concepcion left fine dining to open the shop when he and Mungcal decided to start a family, and a specialty bookstore allowed them to stay in the culinary world while leaving behind the stress of chef life. According to LA Downtowner, it was important to the couple to fill in the gap in the market — LA hasn't had a dedicated cookbook shop since 2009. Concepcion taught himself everything he knew about cooking by reading cookbooks rather than attending culinary school. He wanted to help others in the same situation by stocking all the texts that helped him succeed.

Another antiquarian entry, Rabelais Books in Biddeford, Maine, is owned by Don Lindgren. The work isn't just collecting and selling books and ephemera; it's also to help consumers understand how these works contribute to society at large, as per Life and Thyme. Rabelais mostly caters to individuals looking to expand their culinary knowledge. Still, the store also works with academic institutions to help support the idea that our culinary history is aligned with our cultural history. Don't sweat it if you're not a scholar or historian, though. Rabelais is a font of culinary knowledge for even the beginner cook or bartender. 

Rabelais Books carries more than cookbooks, stocking piles of photographs, prints, and other "expressions of the culture of food." The store is also heavily targeted to everything cocktail-related, selling all sorts of writing and ephemera relating to winemaking, soda fountains, home brewing, and cocktail culture. Stop in to learn about vintage foodstuffs. If you're lucky, you might even have a conversation about Lindgren's beloved chickens, as the owner is a very knowledgeable gentleman farmer (via Instagram).