Walking into Kramerbooks, Thomas Kloiber stops and takes a look around. Greeted by the front cashier, Kloiber moves from shelf to shelf, checking out the biography section then moving to history then yet again to travel. Sliding past other customers in the small aisles, he stops at a small bookshelf label staff picks. Skimming over the wall of novels, he begins pulling book after book off of the shelves, reading the back covers.
“They have some really good books here,” says Kloiber, 22, a tourist from Pa. “I wanted to come here and see what it was like. I’d heard about it online, and someone had recommended it to me. They said it was a good place to hang out.”
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill has a long history in DC. Opened in 1976 by Bill Kramer, Kramerbooks & Afterwords is considered the first bookstore in the country to feature a full bar and food. The store has been located in Dupont Circle since its opening. With hours from 7:30a.m. to midnight during the week and 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays, Kramerbooks offers variety for its customers.
“People can come in for breakfast or brunch, or enjoy drinks and live music. We try to have something for anyone to come in and enjoy both the bookstore and the cafe,” says Stephanie Hess, 24, an employee at Kramerbooks.
While many people may associate bookstores with coffee shops, thanks to Barnes and Nobles featuring Starbucks coffee shops in their stores, Kramerbooks & Afterwords takes it a step further with the bar and restaurant featuring items from Jamaican curried goat to lobster with crabmeat. But, according to Hess, the sweet stuff is the best.
“Honestly if you’re going to eat here, I always tell people to get dessert,” says Hess. “Sometimes the cafe side of the bookstore will bring samples of desserts over to us working in the bookstore and they are just amazing.”
To Hess, the best part of her job is the unique atmosphere of bookstore meets bar. Many people waiting to be seated in the popular Afterwords cafe scan through the books in the front half of the store, but Kramerbooks does not only serve as merely a waiting space for those waiting to chow down on dinner. The bookstore features a wide range of eclectic books that have given Kramerbooks the title of DC’s best bookstore.
“We have a selection of books that are curated by the people who work here,” Hess says. “When people come here to look at the books they are going through specific selections picked by many of the ‘book nerds’ that work here. It’s really good because we all really know the books and can give recommendations and help customers find what they need.”
These “book nerds” that help to give Kramerbooks its relaxed and cozy atmosphere.
“I think my favorite part about working here is the people I work with,” Hess, who has worked at the store for more than a year, says. “We all love books so that common interest brings us together and makes it a much more pleasant place to work.”
The staff seems to be one of the major factors that helps to make Kramerbooks a favorite spot in DC. Kloiber, who after asking for some help from the front register, finally settles for Alan’s War from the staff selections shelf. He buys the book and heads to the bar for a Brooklyn Lager.
“I think the thing that makes this place so unique is the strange combination you have here,” he says. “You can buy a book and a beer all in the same place.”
Kendal (Gapinski) Kloiber 