NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: On July 4, New York's iconic bookshop, Yu & Me Books, was largely destroyed after a fire broke out in a residential unit situated directly above the store in the city’s Chinatown. While the cause of the fire is yet to be determined, the incident caused massive smoke and water damage to the bookshop. The store reportedly lost the majority of its inventory and equipment and might need nearly a year for a complete renovation.
Yu & Me Books, owned by Lucy Yu, announced the tragic incident on Instagram, writing, "Hi everyone, there was unfortunately a fire in the floor above us yesterday. There’s significant damage to the store and we are working hard to fix everything we can but we are closed for now. We will keep you all updated soon as soon as we know more information." In the wake of the tragedy, the bookshop received immense support from the community, including celebrities like Simu Liu, and managed to raise nearly $350K in GoFundMe.
What is known about Lucy Yu?
Yu, the owner of Yu & Me Books, is the first Asian-American woman to own a bookstore in New York City. A former chemical engineer and supply chain manager, Yu established the shop in December 2021, with the hope of bringing to light stories by immigrants and people of color. "My dream was always to create a home that I never found in a bookstore growing up. Yu and Me Books is a bookstore / cafe / bar that focuses on the strong, diverse voices of our community, with a focus on immigrant stories," Yu wrote in the official website of her shop.
The initials of bookstore, YM, is derived from the initials of the name of Yu's mother "to showcase the stories and love in different languages that have been passed down for generations." Yu established the bookstore with dreams of creating a space where the community "can dream together, share our passion, strive for change, and push systems closer to justice." She believed there was there "a huge lack of representation within the literary space" and to create a space "where everyone feels welcomed and heard."
"It's something special to read a story that you relate to and see yourself represented after a lifetime of not being able to," the woman wrote in her website. Over the years, Yu's bookstore gained immense popularity in NYC's Chinatown and beyond, hosting several events including, book launches, artist pop-ups, open mic nights, safety device distribution events, among others.
Yu & Me Books GoFundMe raises nearly $350,000
In the wake of the massive fire breakout, Yu launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to cover the expenses of pop up/temporary space operating costs, replacement of tech, POS systems, damaged inventory, pending and existing payments for damaged inventory, insurance deductibles, accounting fees, new furniture, utilities and building am emergency fund of the year. "Due to significant smoke and water damage, we’ve lost the majority of our inventory and much of the equipment that makes our day-to-day business possible," the staff wrote in the page.
"We have been forced to cease operations and postpone all events for foreseaable future. Most devastatingly, we’ve been told that the store will require a complete gut renovation—estimated to take about a year to complete," it continued. "Facing closure for an entire year is catastrophic for a small business. Insurance money won’t be coming in for at least eight months, taxes and other bills are due, and we want to make sure we can keep our staff paid while keeping their health insurance," the statement added.
"If you’ve been to any of our book launches, artist pop-ups, open mic nights, safety device distribution events, or even just visited on a weekday afternoon, you know what this space means to so many people," the fundraiser mentioned. "We celebrate community at its core and constantly work to ensure that everyone who visits our space feels supported and cared for," it added.
"Lucy has poured her entire self into making this space a reality, keeping the store afloat throughout so many challenges while always prioritizing our staff, customers, authors and the Chinatown community as a whole," the staff further noted. The GoFundMe fundraiser received immediate support with more than 6000 donations, including the likes of Liu and authors Celeste Ng and Min Jin Lee. As of Thursday, July 13, evening it has raised $342,470 in its initial $150,000 goal.
"What’s healing my heart is the outpouring of love and support from everyone," Yu told Spectrum News NY1. "None of them lose any of their benefits. They get to keep their health insurance. I’m so so thankful, and I’m so confident that we are going to keep going," she added.