Just as Black music and fashion have been widely appropriated worldwide, Black food culture has been frequently appropriated by the mainstream American culinary scene. From shrimp and grits to chicken and waffles to macaroni and cheese, many popular meals in the United States have ties to our ancestors. This Juneteenth, Black Restaurant Week encourages everyone to enjoy Black-centric cuisine made by Black chefs in Black restaurants. Founded by Warren Luckett in 2016, Black Restaurant Week “is a celebration of Black food culture from across the diaspora.”
“Growing up…the dinner table was a place we always felt as a safe space to have those hard conversations,” Luckett told theGrio, explaining his and the managing partners’ vision for the organization. “And while at that time, there was so much racial injustice going around, we felt like food could be that common denominator to bring everyone together.”
What started as a 25-restaurant campaign in Houston, Texas, has since expanded to a 15-market campaign covering over 1,700 restaurants annually. On a mission to celebrate the contributions of the Caribbean, African, and Black American culinary scenes here in the United States, Luckett founded the organization to reclaim the narrative surrounding Black food while making it accessible to people from all walks of life. This Juneteenth, the organization is hosting its fifth Black Restaurant Week in New York City, in effect now through June 30. In one of its largest campaigns, the organization welcomes over 150 participating restaurants, food trucks, brick-and-mortar bakeries, and specialty food shops, offering budget-friendly menu selections and allowing consumers to explore an array of flavors.
“New York has always been just an amazing representation of the culture,” Luckett added. “So for us, it just becomes an amazing journey through the different boroughs, getting a chance to learn some of these amazing stories. And that really does become our favorite part of this whole campaign – having an opportunity to highlight these mom-and-pops, these mother-daughter-owned establishments, these second- and third-generation legacy establishments that have really been the backbone of the local Black community for so long.”
As a Houston native who grew up celebrating Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday, Luckett says authenticity is the foundation of how he and his team approach major Black holidays like Juneteenth and Black History Month.
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“There was so much corporate excitement around Juneteenth becoming a national holiday … and very quickly they came, and they left. So for us, it’s like, ‘OK, no; we still have to be at the forefront of being intentional and wanting to be authentic about how we celebrate different things,’” he explained. “And, what better way to celebrate Juneteenth than to drive revenue for these small business owners?”
In addition to amplifying the complex beauty of Black cuisine, Black Restaurant Week aims to help Black-owned businesses grow. Understanding that oftentimes, small Black-owned restaurants do an amazing job crafting their menus and meals but lack the financial resources needed to help them grow, the organization’s efforts expand far beyond the designated Black Restaurant Weeks around the country.
In addition to showcasing the schedule for Black Restaurant Weeks across the nation, blackrestaurantweeks.com serves as a directory of Black-owned restaurants. Whether one is traveling to a new city or simply looking for a new experience, the website allows consumers to explore Black-owned restaurants based on zip codes, dietary restrictions, etc.
“One of the things that we pride ourselves about most on Black Restaurant Week is our website … we really are trying to position ourselves to be a resource for these Black-owned restaurants all year round,” Luckett shared, emphasizing the importance of community impact.
In 2020, the Houston-based organization launched the Feed The Soul Foundation, a national nonprofit providing financial relief and business development solutions for minority-owned culinary businesses. On a mission to provide a pathway of growth and sustainability, the foundation offers business development, education, grants and scholarships to marginalized culinary businesses and students.
“If you look at Black Restaurant Week as a glorified marketing agency or marketing campaign, Feed The Soul Foundation is really our business development arm,” Luckett explained. “Black Restaurant Week is our for-profit, where Feed The Soul is a nonprofit that allows us to work with corporate partners to give out business grants, internships, and scholarships, as well as help businesses that have been affected by natural disasters or any type of emergency.”
Through its Restaurant Business Development Program, which offers a financial stipend, six months of consultations, and financial readiness and marketing boot camps, the Feed The Soul Foundation has helped approximately 85 restaurants since 2021. In addition to supporting business owners, Luckett and his partners found it important to give back to struggling, up-and-coming businesses and the next generation of professionals in the culinary, hospitality, and marketing industries through scholarships. Accordingly, over the last three years, the nonprofit has given over $2 million in education funding, business development, and emergency relief funds.
Later this year, Black Restaurant Week and Feed the Soul Foundation will release a “State of the Industry” report on Black-owned restaurants and hospitality. The organization hopes to use the data collected to further funding efforts by fueling conversations around specific needs for corporate and legislative support.
Ultimately, through his organization, Luckett’s goal is to use food to foreground stories about the Black diaspora. While most people associate meals like fried chicken, crawfish, collard greens, etc. with Black Americans, the Black Restaurant Week founder stressed that soul food is far from the only type of Black cuisine.
“We’re not monolithic. So many times, people try to label our cuisine as strictly soul food. And while soul food has had an integral part of our history … it’s not all we’re about,” he noted, highlighting the similarities between dishes across the diaspora like Louisiana dirty rice, African jollof rice, and Caribbean rice and peas. “Just seeing all the different similarities within our food that have just translated from place to place…is my favorite part,” he added.
Understanding the communal intimacy and affirmation food can foster within the Black community, Luckett finds it essential to equally highlight the history that exists in many of these spaces.
“Traditionally within the Black South, getting together for a family meal on Sundays after church was something that we still traditionally like to do. [Once upon a time,] there were not a lot of different dining options for us to patronize, and so the ones that were open to the Black community really did become community havens,” he shared. “Whether it was pastors or civil rights leaders meeting over a good meal to discuss plans for the next bus boycott, or even things as simple as the ways we celebrate baby showers, anniversaries, brunch … we love a good time for us to come together [and] eat some food that touches our hearts.”
Haniyah Philogene is a multimedia storyteller and Lifestyle writer for theGrio covering all things culture. With a passion for digital media, she goes above and beyond to find new ways to tell and share stories.
