Take a really big bite for Black Restaurant Week

COURTESY BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK

Black Restaurant Week founders from left: Derek Robinson, Falayn Ferrell and Warren Luckett.

Black Restaurant Week kicks off its eighth year with celebration and acknowledgment of local cuisine and culture.

The Charlotte showcase, which runs April 28 – May 7 focuses on restimulating economies within the Black community by promoting culinary businesses and professionals. The initiative is especially vital after COVID-19 decimated the restaurant industry, with roughly 72,000 fewer restaurants than in 2019.

According to data from restaurant research firm Technomic, there are indications the number of U.S. restaurants won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2026.

According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, 500,000 restaurants and bars face uncertain futures due to lost revenue and increased debt over the past two years.  In addition, 1.1 million minority-owned businesses often face increased challenges to secure business funding. Less than 20% of U.S. employer businesses are minority-owned, according to the Census Bureau.

“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” Warren Luckett, Black Restaurant Week’s founder 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 consumers. That’s why we proudly do this for free – it’s peer-to-peer support for 10 or 14 days within each market and for the past seven years.”

BRW launched in 2016 by Luckett and managing partners Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson in Houston to spread the word about local cuisine through sit-down dining or to-go orders from Black-owned restaurants. The goal is to educate consumers on cultural cuisines within their communities and share the disparities minority-owned businesses face.

Since its start, BRW has supported more than 3,000 restauranteurs, bartenders, chefs, caterers, and food trucks.

Last year’s BRW showcased 1,250 Black-owned culinary businesses in the U.S. and Canada, generating an average of 15% sales increase. The initiative’s website generated more than 17 million keyword searches and promoted more than 1,700 Black-owned culinary businesses across North America.

“Since 2016, we aspired to set ourselves apart from similar organizations. BRW is solely guided by business owners and operators. They are in the trenches every day and experience the ebbs and flows of running a business during one of the most difficult periods in U.S. history,” said Ferrell, Black Restaurant Week’s operations managing partner.

Restaurants can join the initiative for free and receive marketing materials as well as digital assets to share online and social media platforms.

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