From left: Derek Robinson, Falayn Ferrell and Warren Luckett
The odds are continuously stacked against Black-owned culinary businesses and their survival is still in jeopardy as they face constant economic downturns due to recovering from the pandemic while currently coping with inflation. Less than 20% of U.S. employer businesses are minority-owned, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Last year, independent restaurant owners faced dire situations when Congress failed to re-up the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the U.S. Small Business Administration allegedly ran out of money.
The mission: feed and fuel the cultural famine – especially with an emphasis on reviving and saving the black restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic – and educate consumers on the abundance of cultural cuisines and dispel ethnic untruths.
Last year, the organization showcased 1250 Black-owned culinary businesses across the United States – including Toronto and Vancouver – and generated an average of 15% sales increase. With more than 17 million keyword searches, the website also promoted more than 1700 Black-owned culinary businesses across North America last year.
2023 campaign initiatives and events include, but are not limited to:
- Free entry-level business registration and inclusion in national culinary directory organization’s website
- Small Business Grants and Business Development training from Black Restaurant Week’s non-profit Feed the Soul Foundation.
Black Restaurant Week celebrates the flavors of African American, African, and Caribbean cuisine with a series of regional cultural events and aims to support Black-owned culinary businesses with substantial programming outside of their multi-city tour across the United States.
Participating restaurants can join at no cost and benefit from the campaign by receiving marketing materials to place within its establishment, digital assets to share online and on their respective social media platforms along with an opportunity to be interviewed or mentioned in local media outlets.
“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 US history,” states Falayn Ferrell, Black Restaurant Week, LLC’s Operations Managing Partner.
According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, 500,000 restaurants and bars are faced with an uncertain future due to lost revenue and increased debt over the past 2 years. Additionally, 1.1 million minority-owned businesses often face heightened challenges and disparities when securing business funding. The shocking statistics championed Black Restaurant Week to revisit their “More Than Just a Week” campaign.
“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020. 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 eight years.” shares Warren Luckett, Black Restaurant Week, LLC’s founder.
For more information about Black Restaurant Week, its events, and participating restaurants, please visit: blackrestaurantweeks.com
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