This year has seen a lot of civil unrest nationwide due to injustices against the Black community. From pesky Karens not minding their business to a myriad of protests bringing attention to police brutality, sometimes it’s good to escape from the craziness and take a few moments to feed the soul with some good food.
Black Restaurant Week was founded in April 2016 by friends Derek Robinson, Falayn Ferrell, and Warren Luckett in Houston, Texas to highlight the flavors of the African, African American, and Caribbean cuisines. Originally a week-long experience, it was extended to two weeks after overwhelming support from the Houston community.=
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“Houston is a huge melting pot of flavors. There’s so much to offer here and the city is one of the most diverse campaigns for Black Restaurant Week,” Robinson tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
The restaurant weeks became a hit and expanded to Atlanta and the Bay Area (San Francisco/Oakland) in 2017. Now, Black Restaurant Week is in 11 different markets across the U.S.—including Tampa Bay where it’s making a Florida debut from Nov. 27-Dec. 6. Participating cities include Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale.
Robinson says Black Restaurant Week tries to build up communities through food by providing options when it comes to sustaining and operating their business like their culinary conference “Aroma,” which featured rapper/entrepreneur Master P as a guest, and other virtual events.
“No one else is doing it and that’s exactly what we’re doing. There hasn’t really been a voice for the Black culinary space from bartenders to caterers,” Robinson explains. She says coming to the Sunshine State was an easy choice because of several connections the founders have to the state.
“Falayn went to FAMU and has family in Florida. She thought it would be a good idea to highlight the whole state, so I said let’s go for it,” says Robinson.
This year’s Florida Black Restaurant Week is currently open for all Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, caterers, etc. with no fee this year. The deadline to apply online is Wednesday, Nov. 25, and a list of restaurants will be made available shortly before Nov. 27. Participants—including Ybor City's 7th+Grove, which confirmed its participation to CL—are given full agency to do whatever they choose to do for the week whether it’s happy hour specials, a prefixe menu, a percentage off a meal. There’s no special menu or pricing; everything is left up to the participants. Pepsi and Bacardi are sponsoring the Florida Black Restaurant Week this year, too.
“We got really good engagement from the state of Florida and it’s been a real blessing to see what’s been accomplished from those who want to support Black-owned businesses,” says Robinson.
Robinson says many restaurant owners were worried they’d have to shut their doors due to the pandemic. The restaurant weeks are a chance for Black people to support our own and help these businesses survive. Other cultures outside of the African Diaspora lend plenty of support to all the restaurant weeks as well.
“It’s all about expanding our palates. I eat all the African foods and that helps my business partners further understand those cultures,” Robinson says.
Black Restaurant Week adheres to all federal, state, and local COVID-19 rules and regulations. “We make sure we understand what’s going on so we can properly educate and articulate that. We’re definitely encouraging takeout and delivery to stay safe,” says Robinson.
In addition to Black Restaurant Week, Robinson and his business partners launched the non-profit Feed the Soul Foundation in October. Through its restaurant business development fund, the foundation supports marginalized business owners with resources on how they can sustain and grow their businesses.
Robinson says supporting Black-owned businesses during Black Restaurant Week keeps their doors open while showing others they’re useful for other things in the future. He says this is really an opportunity to give everyone a look into a different side of the culinary space.
“We want to encourage everyone to break bread at these businesses. We do more than just fried chicken and waffles,” Robinson says.
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This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2020.