[ad_1]
Black Restaurant Week is back, highlighting African-American, African and Caribbean cuisine in the Southwestern United States for the third year, with over a dozen metro Phoenix restaurants and food trucks participating.
Black Restaurant Week began in 2016 in Houston, Texas, with the goal of promoting local Black-owned businesses.
“We realized that a lot of them weren’t really featured in the major restaurant weeks in Houston, more so because they didn’t really fit with the fine dining, wait service kind of business model. There were a lot more casual, counter serve restaurants. We wanted to create a platform that was a little bit more all-inclusive for all the businesses we saw in our community, everything from food trucks to bakeries to casual restaurants,” said Falayn Ferrell, founder of Black Restaurant Week.
The program has since expanded to 15 regional restaurant weeks, including Phoenix.
Nik Fields, the owner of Chic Chef 77, Arizona’s first Black-owned wine bar, has participated in Southwest Black Restaurant Week for the last three years. She said the restaurant week has consistently boosted her business, both in terms of customers and website traffic.
“The fact that we’re able to gain more exposure means so much to us,” Fields said. “Now we’re put into the eyesight of people that may not have necessarily known that we were there before, but they do now.”
34 restaurants now open in metro Phoenixincluding African, Persian and Mexican cuisine
When is Black Restaurant Week in Phoenix?
Southwest Black Restaurant Week runs from Friday, March 17 to Sunday, March 26. Hours vary by restaurant.
What kind of deals are offered for Southwest Black Restaurant Week?
During Southwest Black Restaurant Week participating restaurants offer specials that are not available during the rest of the year.
Chic Chef 77 will offer half off bottles of wine for the entire week, plus an appetizer and craft cocktail combo for $25 from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Others ways to support Black Restaurant Week include making a donation to Black Restaurant Week’s nonprofit, Feed the Soul Foundation. Ferrell said donations go toward the foundation’s emergency relief fund, which provides assistance to restaurants following break-ins or natural disasters.
What restaurants are participating in Black Restaurant Week?
- Boom Boom Room: 1544 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix. boomboomroomphx.com.
- SugarJam The Southern Kitchen: 15111 N. Hayden Road, Suite 140, Scottsdale. 480-948-6210, sjsouthernkitchen.com.
- Chic Chef 77: 1221 E. Apache Blvd., Suite 104, Tempe. 480-564-1098, chicchef77.com.
- Pure Juice n’Joy Smoothie & Juice Bar: 1322 W. University Dr., Tempe. @purejuicenjoy on Instagram.
- All About Food: 1624 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix. 602-368-2911, facebook.com/allaboutfood1.
- Eb’s Delites: 626-298-3092, ebsdelites.com.
- Sweet Magnolia Smokehouse: 2949 E. Chandler Blvd., Phoenix. 623-221-2608, sweetmagnoliasmokehouse.com.
- Charlie Maes Southern Bistro: 2319 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. 602-675-2152, facebook.com/people/Charlie-Maes-Southern-Bistro.
- Kingpin BBQ: 800-679-7040, kingpinbbq.com.
- Hot Sauce and Pepper: 659 E. Main Street, Mesa. 602-899-2213, hotsauceandpepper.com.
- Tempura Takeover: 2484 E. Warner Road, Gilbert. 602-702-8610, tempuratakeover.com.
- Island Boyz Jerk Spot: 602-672-7633, facebook.com/islandboyzjs.
- Ocean Blue Caribbean Restaurant and Bar: 6140 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. 480-753-6000, oceanbluecarib.com.
More:Your guide to Black-owned restaurants, bakeries and food businesses in metro Phoenix
How to support Black-owned restaurants all year long
And Black Restaurant Week’s “More Than Just a Week” campaign hopes to inspire people to support local Black-owned restaurants not just for one week, but all year long. The organization’s website provides an evergreen directory for Black-owned restaurants all over the U.S. and The Republic also has a list of local Black-owned businesses in metro Phoenix to support.
“We were really trying to create a platform that was as far reaching as possible,” Ferrell said. “We thought this would be the best way to have this local, regional and national conversation for businesses and showcase them to the greater community.”
Details:blackrestaurantweeks.com.
Latha is more than a restaurant.It’s a space to honor Black history
Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow @EndiaFontanez on Twitter.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
[ad_2]
Source link