Binding Agents: A New Place for Your Cookbook Obsession

CATIE GAINOR WAS HOME FROM WORK with a cold when a vision of her future as a cookbook shop owner first came into focus. “It was literally like a fever dream,” she says. Languishing on her sofa and scrolling Instagram, she came across a post from the Book Larder bookshop in Seattle, Washington. “They were hosting an event for one of Kenji López-Alt’s books, and it stopped me in my tracks. I stared at the photo, and I thought, ‘That looks so fun,’” she says. At that moment, she decided she wanted to own a cookbook store and host her favorite food writers. “I’d never really had a dream until then.”

In October, that dream will come true in the form of Binding Agents, Gainor’s jewel box of a bookshop right off the Italian Market. “My mom passed away in 2021, and I feel like this is a way to live into her legacy. She taught me everything about cooking and, more importantly, how to gather everyone around the table,” says Gainor.

Expect a focus on entertaining, not just among the titles on the shelves but also in the selected kitchenware and tools that will also be for sale at Binding Agents. “It will include gifts and goods you might not think of: vintage toothpicks, glassware, notepads, things for organizing yourself in the kitchen,” she says. As for books, look for classics, including Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, as well as a special focus on local authors.

Binding Agents
908 Christian St.
bindingagentsphilly.com