CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — August is National Black Business Month, and a Chicago coffee shop on the West Side hopes out-of-towners in the city for the DNC take part in supporting Black-owned businesses while they’re in town.
Momentum Coffee is helping in that mission.
“If I had to choose a favorite off the table, it would probably be this one.”
Maytana Aldana, co-owner of Sweetest Redemption, talks about the sweet potato pie roll because it’s one of her favorites. Her co-partner, Tracey Moore, was once her teacher.
“Tracey has literally been there to see my full progress and progression,” Aldana said.
“It’s just so special that now we worked together after she graduated. She was a scholarship student. We worked together at Fenger for a while and then we worked so well together that we was like, we should do a business. Look at us now. We’re doing business,” said Sweetest Redemption co-owner Tracey Moore.
Their business is located at Momentum Coffee near Laramie and Harrison, a Black-owned business.
Nikki Bravo and her husband, Tracy Powell, own Momentum Coffee. During National Black Business Month, they’re advocating and calling attention to Black business owners in the Chicagoland area.
“It is so important, specifically for Momentum Coffee, to really ensure that we are providing access and equity in the food business space,” Bravo said.
The DNC is just a few days away, and since Momentum Coffee is located inside BUILD, a youth community center in Austin, and has five other locations across the city, they’re hoping people from out of town will support Black businesses.
“Black-owned businesses are our heart of Chicago. We want people to really take that opportunity to get the different taste and flavors of Chicago while they’re here,” Bravo said.
Momentum Coffee and BUILD started a program to help up-and-coming businesses earlier this year. It’s called BUILD Momentum Food Incubator.
The program helps business owners who want to sell food or beverage products organize their businesses and get in front of consumers.
“As Black-owned businesses, we can start businesses, but we want to be able to have the longevity. We want to have sustainable businesses. We want businesses that have a legacy that can carry on,” Bravo said.