Could the Valley soon have its first culinary bookstore? These longtime Phoenix friends are planning on it.
by Devin Kate Pope
Local bookstores like Palabras and Changing Hands have robust food sections, but true obsessives want more. Culinary bookstores have popped up in big cities across the country over the past two decades, and two Phoenix friends have a vision for a specifically Sonoran Desert version to meet the desires of the growing city.
Jovanna Perez Anzaldua and Dana Arbel hope to open their bookshop and café, Comal Food Books & Goods, in late 2025. They believe Comal would be Arizona’s first culinary-specific bookstore and join other West Coast shops such as Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco, Book Larder in Seattle, and Now Serving in Los Angeles, founded in 2008, 2011 and 2017, respectively.
Perez Anzaldua and Arbel met in the mid-2010s and joined forces in 2024 after years of supporting each other’s projects. Perez Anzaldua works in social justice nonprofits, primarily focused on reproductive health and sustainability. Arbel has worked full-time in food since 2020, including as the founding chef at Central Records and the late Cha Cha’s Tea Lounge. She brings a plant-focused sensibility often found in higher-end dining to their café’s casual setting and pop-up menus. “In the food world, people speak about using the whole animal nose to tail, and I want to bring that idea to using the whole plant,” Arbel says.
They envision Comal as a community hub made accessible by sliding-scale payment that also pulls in nationally touring authors who sometimes skip Phoenix due to a lack of a dedicated foodie bookstore. While they work on finding a building, they’re hosting pop-ups that bring together a wide range of people in the food and media communities. They held their first event, Food Stories: Zine Edition, in July. Their second, in October, celebrated the launch of Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz’s new children’s book. In addition to cookbooks, Comal’s shelves will stock food memoirs, children’s books, and a selection of spices, snacks, tools and textiles for the kitchen and table – prioritizing businesses that are woman-, BIPOC- and locally owned.
“Dana is a professional chef, and I am a home cook, and that combination is at the core of Comal,” Perez Anzaldua says. “Our events are not created for one type of cook or chef. Come as you are – Comal isn’t exclusive. It’s open and inclusive of what food means to you.”
Three local books Comal co-founder Jovanna Perez Anzaldua recommends for locavore enrichment.
Phoenix Cooks: Recipes from the City’s Finest Chefs
by Christina Barrueta
“Thanks to this book, I make chef Silvana Salcido Esparza’s recipe for chiles en nogada anytime I want, even though Barrio Café closed earlier this year.”
Nana Lupita and the Magic Sopita
by Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz
“Released in July, it’s already a favorite with my kids. Featuring seek-and-find activities and bilingual words, the story tells of Nana’s love through healing foods.”
A Desert Feast: Celebrating Tucson’s Culinary Heritage
by Carolyn Niethammer
“Recipes alternate with passages about ethnobotanists, ancestral foodways and food history. This slightly academic book is full of food for thought to go with the recipes.”
