National culinary event continues to generate economic and social support for Black-owned businesses with coast-to-coast and international market expansion
Black Restaurant Week LLC, the organization that celebrates the flavors of African American, African and Caribbean cuisine with a series of regional cultural events, aims to quell the closures of black-owned culinary businesses across the United States. Since COVID-19, more than 100,000 U.S.-based restaurants have shuttered.
Black Restaurant Week’s No Crumb Left Behind campaign will assist Black-owned culinary businesses with complimentary marketing support to boost awareness in their respective regions. The systemic barriers faced by Black-owned restaurants, such as disproportionate access to business loans, demonstrates the importance of the campaign. These disparities have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; 41% of Black-owned businesses have shuttered since February 2020 compared to 17% of white-owned businesses. *
Black Restaurant Week’s market expansion includes Toronto, the Gulf Coast, Pacific Northwest, Southeast, Carolinas, and Southwest regions.
Black Restaurant Week was founded in 2016 by three friends: Warren Luckett, Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson. It began as a one-city food experience in Houston. The mission: celebrate African American, African, and Caribbean influences in the culinary industry, educate consumers on the abundance of cultural cuisines and dispel ethnic untruths. In 2020, the organization showcased 670 Black-owned culinary businesses across the United States and generated an average of 34% sales increase. Black Restaurant Week supports restauranteurs, bartenders, chefs, caterers, and food trucks.
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