Day: May 1, 2025

Brooklyn’s very own Greenlight Bookstore has been voted New York’s most popular small business, according to a new poll from Advanced Funds Network.

The org polled 3,014 people asking which small businesses have products or services so beloved they would travel over an hour to get them — and Greenlight was the top response. Founded in 2009, the indie bookstore is beloved across the borough and, as evidenced by the poll, across the state. 

Greenlight is known for its very well-curated selection and knowledgeable staff recommendations.

“Many people are looking for direction when it comes to reading. So, our staff is always giving recommendations, which is part of why people come here, for the good vibes and the curation,” said store manager Nicole Kempster. “We try to make sure we represent different age demographics, racial demographics and just a wide range of people. We try to make sure everyone is represented.”

The store has a staff-made display that changes every month, representing a variety of subjects. Those subjects can be more ordinary — like poetry for National Poetry Month in April — or more esoteric. When Paul Mescal was performing in  “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the nearby Brooklyn Academy of Music, Greenlight assembled a Paul Mescal display. For Kempster, the joy of the job comes from connecting with customers and creating the displays.

Greenlight also hosts plenty of events and author discussions to keep the community engaged. Store owner Jessica Stockton Bagnulo helps to organize the annual Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl — which the store is of course a part of – and hosts an annual neighborhood-wide “Where’s Waldo?” search. 

Next month, the store will host a discussion with author Katie Kitamura at the Brooklyn Public Library, and will welcome poet Ocean Vuong on May 14. But visiting authors are just a highlight — the shop holds regular book discussion groups for local readers, and its current book groups focus on Young Adult, Tween, Fantasy, Queer and Fiction.

Its newest venture is the Young Reader Reviewer Program, where the shop offers advanced reader copies of new books to young readers under age 14. In exchange, those readers write down their thoughts about the book to be posted in-store or online so other youngsters can find their next great read. 

Kempster was thrilled people like the shop so much, even if they have to travel far to get there. 

“We are honored to have this title bestowed on us, we were not expecting it at all. We put a lot of thought and effort into our selection, so it is really nice to see that recognized,” she said. “It is definitely heartening to see people are willing to travel or order from us even when they do not live in the area.”