Frugal Bookstore is Boston's only Black-owned independent bookstore, sitting in Nubian Square in the heart of Roxbury. Clarrissa Cropper and Leonard Egerton, a husband-and-wife team, bought the business in 2008 when it was a single bookshelf inside a Frugal Furniture store, and they kept the name as they grew it into a full shop. The store carries new books with a deep selection by Black and Brown authors across fiction, nonfiction, children's titles and young adult.
Beyond the shelves, the family handles special orders, bulk and organizational purchasing, and consignment for local authors who want their work in front of Boston readers. Author events and private events keep the space busy and make it a gathering point as much as a place to shop.
The City of Boston named Frugal Bookstore a Legacy Business in 2024, and it has been a Best of Boston bookstore pick. For readers in Roxbury and across Boston, it is a neighborhood bookstore that has stayed in the same hands and kept the same purpose for well over a decade. Stop in or place an order online.
Frugal Bookstore