Black Restaurant Week is back in Houston, and this year, the festival will focus on promoting Black-owned businesses and Black professionals in the business! The idea is to put businesses without the funds for expensive marketing strategies in the limelight. How cool is that?
Black Restaurant Week is underway now and runs through Sunday, April 14.
This will be the week’s 9th campaign, where Houstonians can discover Black-owned restaurants, food trucks and dessert destinations across Houston, Beaumont and other surrounding metro areas. The selection of restaurants features a diverse palate — with flavors from African-American, African and Caribbean cuisines.
“Most businesses do not have marketing/PR/advertising dollars to promote their business; thus, Black Restaurant Week, LLC. was developed to shine a light on minority businesses, aiding them in building community awareness to increase their bottom line,” said Kelly Taylor, Founder of Àlaket Public Relations.
Here is the list of the participating restaurants:
- Reggae Hut
- Juliet
- The Fry Guys
- Legendary Vibes, LLC
- This Little Cake of Mine Dessert Bar, LLC
- Waters Edge Winery & Bistro
- The Sweet Swirl
- Chef Tarrance Michael
- Culinary Cognition Catering, LLC
- FRNDS Restaurant & Lounge
- Pur Noire Urban Wineries
- B’s Wine Bar
- Fry Daddy’s
- Chasin’ The Taste
- Chef Baker’s Place 2LLC
- The Smoke
- Black Girl Tamales: Mango Deli and Cafe
- Park Place @ The Boardwalk Steakhouse & Grille
- Taste of Nigeria
- Krab Kingz Antoine
- Gottis Restaurant & Bar
- Ray’s Real Pit BBQ Shack
- Cajun Street
- The LaRoux Table
- Peppaz HTX
- Wing Quarter Daiquiris & Creole Kitchen
- Comfort Foodies
- LA Burgers and Daiquiris
- Houston This is It Soul Food
- Cool Runnings Jamaican Grill
- Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe
- Twisted Grilled Cheese
The history of Black Restaurant Week
Black Restaurant Week is an experimental marketing agency founded in 2016 by three friends — founder and managing partner Warren Luckett, managing partner of operations Falayn Ferrell and managing partner of marketing Derek Robinson.
Their goal was to celebrate the different types of food within the Black community. The organization, in collaboration with corporations and community partners, organizes culinary events and marketing campaigns to shed light on businesses struggling with funds.
Since its inception, the organization has supported more than 3,000 restauranteurs, bartenders, chefs, caterers and food trucks. They have expanded to 11 other markets across North America.
Per the Independent Restaurant Coalition, 500,000 restaurants and bars are faced with uncertainty because of lost revenue and increased debt. Moreover, 1.1 million minority-owned businesses face a variety of challenges and disparities when it comes to acquiring funding.
“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” Luckett said in a statement. “Now, the price of food is soaring. From being overlooked for revitalization funds to inflation, most Black-owned culinary businesses cannot afford advertisements/PR/marketing to build awareness and attract customers.”
Observing these challenges to such businesses, the non-profit arm of Black Restaurant Week, Feed the Soul Foundation, started a cohort program to financially and professionally support marginalized restaurant entrepreneurs through the Restaurant Business Development Grant Program.
In 2022, Feed the Soul Foundation’s grant aimed to award 30 small businesses with $10,000 financial stipends and business development services to cope with a post-COVID world’s dining demands.
“Small businesses are still in recovery mode because of a two-year long pandemic. It is our responsibility to ensure they are not facing these hardships alone,” Ferrell had said then.
She also spoke about the success of the program in revitalizing Black businesses.
