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As part of my 39th birthday weekend, my friend Ashley and I met in D.C. to officially kick off 40 Bookshops Under 40. Not only do Ashley and I share a love for Indie bookshops and spreadsheets (she had created our D.C. Indie bookshop bucket list) but also our birthday. We were excited to spend our day browsing Indie bookshops in the capital. Our first stop was The Potter’s House, a bookstore and cafe in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. Little did I know that Potter’s House plays a central role in community organizing, social justice and cultural studies when I ordered a breakfast burrito and cortado. Most tables were taken up by people talking and enjoying breakfast while a larger community table in the center was set up for coworking. The place was busy but not stressful. In fact, I would describe it as a hospitable oasis in the midst of DC. While enjoying my breakfast, I let my eyes wander over the brick interior walls, fully stocked shelves featuring a great mix of popular titles and books I’d never heard of, and I couldn’t help but notice how jovially the staff treated each other and each customer.  Justin Bray, the executive director, was working that morning and I shyly told him about 40 Bookshops Under 40. Enthusiastically, he agreed to answer my questions and I was excited to learn more about what Potter’s House means to him. “The Potter’s House is a Pay-What-You-Can nonprofit bookstore, café, and event space in Washington, DC. Since opening our doors in 1960, we have been a hub for meaningful conversation, action and activism, creative expression, and community transformation. Our bookstore specializes in social movements, cultural studies, and spiritual traditions — and we’re known for our skillfully curated selection of gifts, fiction, poetry, and children's books centered on multicultural voices. We host author talks, poetry readings, open mics, local writers' showcases, and much more.” Justin Bray Potter’s House has indeed a rich history (learn more on their website). The long hallway is lined with photographs and news clippings from the last sixty years attesting to its prominent role in the community. Potter’s House collaborated with a local historian named Shae Corey who dug into its history and found a variety of stories that were then turned into a digital exhibit and limited podcast series: Radical HospitalityJustin joined Potter’s House in June 2024. “Our mission is to serve as a third place for all people, regardless of their means, and we accomplish that mission by providing good food and community for all that cross over our threshold.” He continued, “Our primary program, Pay It Forward, provides free meals to folks every day of the week from 8:00 - 10:00 A.M. Guests can come in and enjoy a meal in a welcoming space. This program is primarily utilized by our unhoused and elderly neighbors but it's available to anyone that might need it. We serve around 1200 meals every month through this program today. We also use this time during the day to get to know the folks that come through and leverage those relationships and trust to connect them with other resources they may benefit from in the community. We help to connect these folks with social services like WIC, food stamps, and housing services to help them exit poverty and other adverse situations they may find themselves in. For the rest of the hours that we're open during the day, we offer our entire menu on a Pay-What-You-Can basis. Guests can choose to pay the suggested amount, pay less than the suggested amount, and even choose to pay for a meal for someone else in the future. Beyond the above programming, we're looking to expand our services in 2025 to encompass our book offerings as well. We've begun accepting book donations from the community in an effort to provide affordable books through our Pay-What-You-Can model but also redistribute books to the various book deserts in the DMV area with a focus on childcare facilities serving children from ages 0-5. We're still working on what this will look like in practice but we're very much looking forward to providing these services in the new year.” Another thing that struck me at Potter’s House as I browsed the shelves was the selection of kids books. With only two weeks to go until Santa’s visit to our house, my eyes were drawn to children’s titles that I hadn’t seen anywhere else before. Which is how I ended up with Lemony Snicket’s The Latke that Couldn’t Stop Screaming and in conversation with Aliza, the knowledgeable book buyer at Potter’s House. She introduced me to children’s poetry and the type of books that I wish I had had as a kid. We had a lengthy conversation about sourcing children’s books that represent diverse voices and titles that engage young minds in a meaningful way.  “Though we may be a small bookstore, we have an *incredibly* well curated selection of books centered on social justice, progressive change, and true inclusivity. We absolutely believe that the fight for progress is worth every bit we commit to it, but we also believe that finding time to experience joy and rest is an incredibly important form of resistance as well. After all, time spent enjoyed is never time wasted.“ I wondered what brought Justin to Potter’s. Selling books is one thing, serving food and coffee while holding space for critical conversations in the community quite a different one. Let alone doing it all as a nonprofit. “I found The Potter's House at the exact right time in my life and career.”, Justin told me. “I was hired as the latest executive director for the organization to help transition into our next chapter of existence as an independent nonprofit. I fell in love with this place because of the people that work here and those that frequent it. I remember reading the job description and realizing that it was a perfect combination of all the chapters of my career to this point: nonprofit, books, and service industry. I honestly wasn't looking for another position as an ED so soon after my previous position in Athens, Georgia at Books for Keeps, but this position felt almost as if it was created with someone like me in mind and I knew I would spend a long time wondering "What If?" I ended up not taking it once it was offered.” More things that I instantly loved about The Potter’s House:
Justin’s book recommendations
“Washington, DC is a great reading city--very literate. People buy great stuff here for themselves and others, so one of my favorite things is chatting up customers who're purchasing an interesting combination of books: Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Thomas Piketty. Or Beach Read and Joan Didion. The Communist Manifesto and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I love this town for its love of reading and for sharing that love.” Justin Bray What I bought at Potter's HouseComments are closed.
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