Dara Landry leads Houston reading renaissance with CLASS

Born and raised in Houston, Dara Landry is the quintessential hometown homegirl.

After spending her early years on the city’s northwest side, her family relocated to Missouri City, where she spent the majority of her childhood. As the daughter of a divorced mother, resources were tight, meaning traditional summer vacations were out of reach. Instead, Landry and her brother spent their summers at the local library, a sanctuary where her lifelong love affair with literature truly began.

Though she was a late reader, only fully mastering the skill in the second grade, Landry took off instantly and could not put books down. Her academic journey eventually led her to Wiley College in Marshall, Texas—the oldest accredited college west of the Mississippi. After graduating, she ran right back to Houston, eager to pour her energy back into the community that raised her.

Landry always possessed an innate passion for people. While she initially considered a career in formal education, she quickly realized that teaching happens in many spaces. This led her to a fulfilling career in the non-profit sector, working with organizations like the Children’s Museum and the YMCA to support youth in under-resourced communities. Today, as the co-owner of CLASS Bookstore, she successfully marries her love of reading with her deep-seated commitment to community advocacy.

A love story written in the aisles

The story of CLASS Bookstore is inherently tied to Dara’s partnership with her husband, best friend, and business partner, David Landry. The couple quite literally met in a bookstore, thanks to Dara’s quick wit and confident approach.

“Shooters gotta shoot,” Dara laughed, recalling how she and a friend visited a Borders location after reading that bookstores were great places to meet a potential partner. “I saw David working behind the counter. I thought he was so cute. We struck up a conversation about Elf on a Shelf and how we thought it was very weird and surveillancey. It just took off from there.”

David shares an equal admiration for his wife’s sharp intellect and infectious personality.

“Dara is probably the most charming, the most politically astute lover of me in the world,” David said. “I definitely appreciate the fact that at that bookstore… she saw me and recognized the level of work ethic and determination that I had. She is my best friend. She is a person who I can definitely depend on when the chips are down.”

Cultivating a legacy

The inspiration for CLASS Bookstore struck in 2015, when the couple read a jarring statistic: Fewer than 39 Black-owned bookstores remained in the United States. Recognizing the decline, they traveled to locate those remaining shops, seeking advice from owners to find a solution. In 2020, they launched their venture through online sales and pop-up events. By 2022, they moved into a permanent, beautiful brick-and-mortar space in Houston’s historic Third Ward.

“This is our neighborhood non-fiction niche independent bookstore,” Dara explained.

As children who grew up frequenting iconic local institutions like the Shrine Bookstore and African Imports, the Landrys wanted to actively contribute to that rich legacy.

Dara operates with a relentless, high-energy drive that perfectly mirrors Kevin Gates’s anthem I Don’t Get Tired. She is a self-described people person who lives by the daily application of Kwanzaa principles and a personal mantra: “Never settle down. Always settle up.”

This captivating dynamism reflects her favorite inspirational fiction book, Toni Morrison’s Paradise, which she describes as gripping from beginning to end.

Houston’s Black bookstore renaissance

Dara is explicitly energized by the current state of literature in her hometown, noting that the local literary landscape is experiencing a massive cultural shift.

“Houston is in a reading renaissance and a Black bookstore renaissance,” she noted. “We’ve gone in less than five years from having really very few Black-owned bookstores. We have six now, and more opening every day.”

For CLASS Bookstore, this growth signifies progress rather than rivalry. Dara maintains a strict philosophy of collaboration over competition.

“For us, the only competition is Amazon,” she stated. “There are over six million Black people in the greater Houston area. I can’t sell six million books. We need more Black bookstores. We need more spaces to be curated.”

Renegade booksellers and classy events

CLASS Bookstore has quickly become a premier destination for high-profile literary and cultural events. The store’s curated shelves have attracted an impressive roster of prominent non-fiction authors, cultural icons, and memoirists.

“Recently, we had Dr. Anthony Browder… Teddy Riley had a memoir that recently came out. We’ve had him. We’ve had Da Brat and her wife, Judy. We’ve had Earn Your Leisure Podcast,” Dara shared.

The momentum continues to build, with an upcoming appearance by celebrated scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. scheduled for June 17 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston.

Beyond their physical events, the duo has garnered a loyal digital following by staying entirely authentic.

Describing themselves as “renegade booksellers,” they utilize social media to showcase their humorous, edgy, and culturally conscious personalities.

“We are hilarious,” Dara said. “Social media is an ever-growing part of our culture. And we do desire to be culturally relevant. But we want to be true to who we are.”