Jordan Coleman had $25 to her name when she pulled up to Chef Jay Eats & Treats, a takeout counter in north Houston.
Laid off from a legal administrative job and driving for Uber, she spent it on a meal she planned to film. The video drew nearly 1 million views. The owner emailed her thanks, and a paid offer from another business soon followed.
“Entrepreneurship is faith-based,” Coleman said. “There are going to be times where you might not get anything, and so you have to reinvest in yourself.”
Two years later, Coleman is working in marketing and running her Instagram page, where more than 37,000 followers come for hidden gems and Black-owned businesses. Her path there runs through a hospitality degree, a law degree, and a family table full of Louisiana cooking.
Coleman’s parents were born in Houston, but one grandmother came from Opelousas, Louisiana, and the other from Lafayette. Sundays after church meant gumbo, fried chicken, and sweet potato pie with a crowd of relatives. Her grandmother Josephine, a self-taught cook, could turn the little she had into homemade soup.
“When I go to restaurants, I actually think about Granny Josephine,” Coleman said. “I’m looking to see what called you to be here. What is your purpose beyond being viral?”
She studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of Houston and worked at hotel front desks and restaurant floors. When college friends asked where to eat, she began photographing food trucks around 2017.
She later graduated from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, but hospitality kept calling. After the layoff, Coleman said she felt God telling her to use her gifts.
Finding her lane
Jordan Coleman began documenting Houston food trucks and hidden gems around 2017. Credit: Jordan Coleman/Facebook 
Jordan Coleman began documenting Houston food trucks and hidden gems around 2017. Credit: Jordan Coleman/Facebook 
Jordan Coleman began documenting Houston food trucks and hidden gems around 2017. Credit: Jordan Coleman/Facebook 
Jordan Coleman began documenting Houston food trucks and hidden gems around 2017. Credit: Jordan Coleman/Facebook
While friends lived near downtown, Coleman lived on the outskirts, so she started on the north side. She spotlighted a new Louisiana-style spot off Highway 249, then searched online maps for Black-owned businesses in Spring and Greenspoint.
“I wanted to give love to the north side first,” Coleman said. “I have family members on both the north and south side, but the south always got love.”
For her first six or seven months, Coleman worked for free to build trust with Black-owned businesses and sharpen her marketing skills. Later, managing restaurant social media accounts, she filmed and edited dozens of client videos on top of her own, often skipping time with friends.
Income comes in waves, with brand budgets flowing some quarters and drying up in others. She also turns down paid work when the food or service falls short.
“I’m excited for the future. I just want Houston to be proud of me in the end.”
Jordan Coleman, Houston Food Blogger
“I have to pass it because my conscience would eat me alive if somebody goes and they said, ‘Jordan told me to go,’” Coleman said. “So yes, I pass money up.”
Houston content creator Lauren Nicole Grace first met Coleman at UH. They became friends, filming the same restaurants and attending the same events. Grace said the work costs money, editing time, and even health. A week of tacos, she joked, takes a toll.
She said Coleman’s page lifts Black businesses that often get overlooked.
“It’s going to be something that has a family feel to it,” Grace said. “You’re going to want to go to the places that she puts out more than once.”
Beyond the city center
Coleman said Black-owned dining has grown since her father’s era, when Frenchy’s, the Third Ward Creole chicken spot that opened in 1969, was the late-night stop. Now she sees Black-owned spots in Spring, Pearland, Missouri City, and Cypress, and plans to highlight more Ethiopian, Nigerian, and Caribbean restaurants.
For newcomers, she has one rule.
“Don’t ever lower your value based on what a restaurant tells you,” Coleman said. “Stand on business and be okay with leaving if they don’t match your value or your price.”
She recently launched the Power of Black, a platform for Black businesses, entrepreneurs, and content creators.
“I’m excited for the future,” Coleman said. “I just want Houston to be proud of me in the end.”
