During the pandemic, Donnita Flanagan, who worked as a property manager, began cooking and selling dinners out of her Auburn Gresham home while working from home to make extra money.
She would sell about 10 dinners, then 50, and sometimes lines would form down her block for people seeking her signature fried rice and pasta dishes.
When it became time to return to the office, Flanagan, 35, a self-taught cook, realized she liked working for herself and having more time at home with the kids. That’s when she decided to go all in on a food career, starting with a food truck and opening a brick and mortar in June.
She said that before finding the spot for Passion T Plates at 3412 W. 79th St., she was often turned down when she tried to secure different locations, despite being in a solid financial position.
She felt she was seen as a risk to prospective landlords “because I’m a young minority.”
Flanagan’s challenge is what Black Restaurant Week seeks to address.
Now in its eighth year, Black Restaurant Week began in Houston as a one-week event and has expanded to about 15 different restaurant week campaigns, from the Bay Area and Southwest to the Northeast and Florida.
“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” Warren Luckett, founder of Black Restaurant Week, 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 eight years.”
Flanagan said she spends about $500 a month on advertising because that is what she is able to fit into her budget as a small business. By being a part of restaurant week, she said she’s already seen an increase in new customers, including some people from the neighborhood who didn’t even know she was there. She estimates there were about 30% new customers on Monday.
Chicago’s Black Restaurant Week, which began Sunday and runs until Sept. 24, features about 30 local restaurants. This year is the “largest campaign for Chicago,” Derek Robinson, the event’s managing partner, said. Over the four years since it’s been in Chicago, nearly 100 restaurants have participated.
In Chicago, “there is a wealth of culinary talent,” Robinson said, noting the diversity reflected in this year’s lineup, including vegan, barbecue, soul food, Ethiopian and Jamaican.
From left, Black Restaurant Week managing partners Derek Robinson and Falayn Ferrell and founder Warren Luckett.
While there are other Black restaurant weeks, including one in Chicago held in February, Robinson said that what sets this initiative apart is its nationwide reach and mission to go beyond the week or two the event is held.
After traveling to the various cities and noticing systemic challenges that minority-owned business faced, organizers established Feed the Soul Foundation. According to the National Restaurant Association, about 9% of restaurants are Black or African American owned. Restaurants that are part of the restaurant week can seek to be a part of a six-month program that provides business development support in the form of $10,000 to put toward marketing, human resources or franchising, Robinson said. Through the foundation, nearly $100,000 has gone to Chicago restaurants that are a part of the program.
“When we see there’s opportunities and resources for advocacy, grants, things of that nature we’ve definitely tried to reach out to these restaurants as quickly as possible to make sure they are able to apply for those opportunities and also be able to participate in those activities as well,” Robinson said.
For Flanagan, who describes herself as a foodie who would go to featured Black Restaurant Week eateries to discover hidden gems, the opportunity to participate as an owner is “a dream.”
“I’d go to the different restaurants just to try places that I’ve never heard of. So to be in the position to actually be able to participate, like I’m smiling right now because it’s just awesome that I’m in a position to do something I always wanted to do.”
Chicago restaurants that are participating in Black Restaurant Week include (with more being added):
Bell Heirs BBQ, 704 W. 47th St.
Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat, 1143 N. Wells St.
Frontier, 1072 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Ina Mae Tavern & Packaged Goods, 1415 N. Wood St.
Kathryn’s Soul, 131 N. Clinton St.
Koto Hibachi, 258 W. 31st St.
Luella’s Southern Kitchen, 4609 N. Lincoln Ave.
Passion T Plates, 3412 W. 79th St.
Phlavz, 717 W. Maxwell St.
Rylon’s Smokehouse, 67 E Cermak Rd.
The SoulFood Lounge, 3804 W. 16th St.
Taylor’s Tacos, 1512 W. Taylor St.
Windy City Ribs & Whiskey, 67 E. Cermak Rd.
Yashicas Treats So Divine LLC, 1440 W. Taylor St.
For more information, go to: https://blackrestaurantweeks.com/midwest-black-restaurant-week/