COURTESY ERIQUE BERRY

Food blogger Erique Berry connects readers with Black-owned restaurants, recipes and wellness tips through #EatBlkCLT.

Erique Berry is inspired by the food of her roots.

She views cooking as a way to bind communities together. Not only does it bring comfort, but it can have healthy benefits, especially during the chaos of a pandemic.
Berry began her cooking journey as a girl, spending hours in the kitchen with her mother preparing Southern-style dishes. As she grew up, her love for food blossomed. Throughout high school Berry would cook for family gatherings and nightly dinners at home.

Berry has many talents, but food has always taken priority. She attended North Carolina A&T State University, graduating with a degree in applied mathematics. Directly after graduating, she went on to teach math for eight years. When her mother died in 2015, Berry was pulled back to the kitchen by memories of her past and turned that passion for food into a blog as a tribute to her mom.

The website features recipes and wellness tips. “I think as much as people try to characterize Southern cooking as being unhealthy, it is pretty healthy,” she said. “What I want to share with others, especially Black women, is how food can actually help mental health because it is a big part of our mood and how we feel.”

Not only does Berry share her love for food, but she empowers others to do the same. She sees social media as a perfect outlet to promote a business but understands that not everyone knows how to use it effectively. Berry, who highlights social media management tips on her website, believes a sound social media strategy has the power to connect a business to more customers, increase viewers to a website, increase brand loyalty, and promote food in a unique way.

“A lot of times, businesses and individuals think Instagram or Facebook is just about posting,” she said, “but everything that you do on social media should have a purpose and direction. You have to ask yourself what you want to inform your audience.”

After the pandemic, Berry wanted to give back to the Black community. With the help of a few friends and fellow foodies, the hashtag movement #EatBlkCLT was born. The goal was to attract more customers to the businesses and offset some of the financial hardships that the pandemic caused.

“We noticed that there was a digital media gap for Black-owned restaurants,” she said. “We came together and started the hashtag EatBlkCLT as a way for people to support these businesses. People could add a hashtag to their Instagram post about their experience at the restaurant.”

The Eat Blk Charlotte account currently has 14,000 followers and there are over 7,500 posts on Instagram that use the hashtag. The movement not only motivates the public to dine at Black-owned restaurants, but also tries to support their success in the long run.

“In June 2020, we offered workshops for Black businesses,” Berry said. “One of the workshops, hosted by Social Media Charlotte, explained how restaurants could reach an audience through social media. We want to create a space for black food content creators and support them in their journey.”

Berry wants to see more support for black owned restaurants in the digital media space moving forward.

“From social media, to websites, to [public relations], just gaining support and resources for businesses is important,” she said. “Restaurants can’t always afford a person dedicated to PR or social media. We want to offer these workshops for restaurant owners so they can run it themselves and fill in that gap.”

As director of Eat Blk Charlotte, Berry wants to shine a brighter light on Black food bloggers, restaurant owners, and content creators who don’t always get mainstream media attention. That’s the initiative’s goal: showcase their unique creations for a larger audience.

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