Why is Black Restaurant Week so Important?
The concept of Restaurant Week is not new. The first Restaurant Week was in New York City in 1992 which allowed a wider audience to sample high-end restaurants. Since then the concept has taken off and allowed thousands of restaurants to show off their best dishes at affordable prices.
Black Restaurant Week however is more than marketing.
Warren Luckett, one of the co-founders of Black Restaurant Week wanted to have a conversation about politics and what was going on in the news but found it difficult to find a safe space. He kept coming back to the idea of the family dinner table.
“My hope was to be able to use Black Restaurant Week as a medium to bring everyone to the table, from all walks of life, to showcase the city’s diverse Black food scene,” Luckett said.
Food is the intersection of life and he wanted to highlight African American, African and Caribbean cuisines so others can experience the culture first-hand.
After partnering up with Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson, owners of the digital marketing firm, Fade Media, Black Restaurant Week was born.
“A lot of times these small Black businesses don’t have the resources or an opportunity to do marketing,” Luckett said. “We’re hoping to build a platform that will bring attention and press to the Black community to ultimately drive revenue for them.”
After four years, Black Restaurant Week has highlighted hundreds of outstanding Black-owned restaurants, food trucks and even catering businesses. The movement expanded to New Orleans, Philadelphia, Texas, Los Angeles and throughout the Midwest.
This year on August 7th will be Black Restaurant Week’s 5th annual event and may be the most important event they’ll ever have.
COVID-19 hits Black Communities Hard
COVID-19 has been devastating for the restaurant industry as a whole but some restaurants are harder hit than others.
According to a study performed by the Federal Reserve, minority-owned, particularly Black-owned, businesses are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. There is a long history of Black-owned businesses being more vulnerable even before the pandemic.
“Counties with the highest concentration of COVID-19 are also the areas with the highest concentration of Black businesses and networks,” the authors of the study wrote, stating “weaker cash positions, weaker bank relationships, and pre-existing funding gaps left Black firms with little cushion entering the crisis.”
Those that aren’t familiar with the federal PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans might assume the loans come directly from the government but the reality is the loans come from third-party lenders like banks and are backed by the SBA (Small Business Administration). This means many businesses that have poor financial records or have no existing relationships with third-party lenders are less likely to get federal aid.
Counties that have high-density Black-owned businesses received less federal aid. Only 7% of businesses in Bronx, NY and 11.6% of businesses in Detroit, MI received federal aid via PPP loans.
According to another study from the University of California, almost half of all Black-owned businesses in the US reported closing their businesses either temporarily or permanently due to COVID-19 compared to just 17% of white-owned small businesses that said the same.
But Black-owned businesses aren’t content with fading away, there are many initiatives to bring these businesses front and center including EatOkra and Black Restaurant Week.
Impact of Black Restaurant Week
Black Restaurant Week is part of a larger effort to save Black-owned businesses. The Black Restaurant Coalition has been working with struggling businesses during the pandemic.
“In my conversations with restaurant owners, they felt like they were getting stuck when it came to funding and being able to bounce back,” Jade Stevens, founder of the Black Restaurant Coalition, said. “I felt we needed a collective voice so people know how they can best support.”
Together, the Black Restaurant Coalition and Black Restaurant Week aim to revive and even supercharge remaining Black-owned businesses.
“It’s a way to uplift the Black restaurants in our community and really support the movement that the coalition supports, which is dine Black,” Stevens said. “Past the #supportBlackbusiness and the other hashtags, it doesn’t stop. Supporting Black is 365 days a year.”
Barbara Sky Burrell, the owner of Sky’s Gourmet Tacos, has been part of the Black Restaurant Week since year one. She describes wanting to be part of a movement to educate people in African American culture.
“For the Black community, not only does it provide brand exposure, it’s culinary education,” she said. “The African American tastes from the South, Caribbean flavors, African flavors, those are all here. And they’ve been somewhat overlooked. Black Restaurant Week is bringing them all to the forefront.”
John Cleveland, chef and owner of the Post & Beam restaurant also wanted to spread awareness of African American cuisine.
“We always try to take these opportunities with new customers to introduce them to the great staples,” Cleveland said. “We’ll probably do our vegan crab cakes or shrimp and grits — something that screams out Post & Beam.”
The creators of Black Restaurant Week also want to take things a step further and create an entire digital network for Black restaurant owners.
COVID-19 has “forced us to really focus internally to create this digital hub we’ve all been dreaming about,” Falayn Ferrell said. “This database will share businesses and recipes and stories within the Black community. We’ll build it out and let it grow.”
When and Where
2020 is a special year for Black Restaurant Week, the 5th year celebration. There are more participating communities and restaurants than ever. For a full list of all participating locations you can visit their website.
Houston, TX
July 10 — July 19, 2020
Midwest
July 24 — August 2, 2020
Los Angeles, CA
August 7 — August 16, 2020
Bay Area, CA
August 21 — August 30, 2020
Atlanta, GA
September 4 — September 13, 2020
Washington DC
September 18 — September 27, 2020
New Orleans, LA
October 2 — October 11, 2020
