Houston Black Restaurant Week launches amid changed scene
The 2020 edition of Houston Black Restaurant Week launches this week amid a very different dining scene and political climate nationally and locally.
The fifth annual event highlighting Black-owned restaurants and catering operations in Houston is set against a racial awakening brought on by the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the ongoing struggles of a restaurant industry diminished by the coronavirus pandemic.
But the organizers of Houston Black Restaurant Week, which runs through July 19, have actually seen an increase in participation this year with more than 50 participants, up 20 from last year.
“We want to use food as a way to feed the soul and heal the soul. We want to use the conversation of food to bring the community together,” said Warren Luckett, managing partner, who founded the event in 2016 with partners Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson. “The dinner table has always been the place where we could talk about the community and politics.”
Though that conversation may be more important today than ever, the event is, at its heart, a showcase for the culinary treasures within Houston’s expansive, multicultural melting pot. Some of the city’s most popular Black-owned restaurants participating this year include Lucille’s, Ray’s BBQ Shack, Fainmous BBQ, Houston This Is It Soul Food, Kid Kreole Kooking, The Greasy Spoon Soulfood Bistro and Rosalie & Main.
Some of the restaurants are offering dine-in menus, but the emphasis this year is on takeout and delivery. As restaurants are contending with the severe financial consequences brought on by COVID-19, the event is something of a lifeline for participating businesses.
“Our goal for these restaurants is to drive sales,” Luckett said.
“As small businesses, the most important thing they can have is increased revenue. We want them to have repeat customers.”
For Shannen Tune, owner of Craft Burger at Finn Hall in downtown, HBRW is a financial windfall. “I’ve had a ton of success with Black Restaurant Week,” said Tune, who is now in his fourth year participating.
This year, he said, the focus on Black-owned businesses could not be more timely.
“With the climate of everything going on with Black Lives Matter, the call to support Blackowned businesses is important,” he said. “There are so many restaurants to choose from in Houston. Without something like Black Restaurant Week, those restaurants don’t get the spotlight. It amplifies us to a broader audience. It’s exposure for people who are looking to support Black-owned restaurants who may not know that we’re there.”
The positive effects of HBRW are intended to go beyond the dates of the event. The organizers said they have positioned themselves as a platform for improving business models for Black restaurant owners by offering business resources and marketing opportunities. The founders are working on a national Black restaurant directory they hope to launch this year. They also have expanded the concept beyond Houston with Black Restaurant Week events in Los Angeles (Aug. 7-16), Atlanta (Sept. 4-13), Washington, D.C. (Sept. 18-27), New Orleans (Oct. 2-11), Philadelphia (Oct. 16-25), and New York (Oct. 30-Nov. 8).
For a full list of Houston restaurants and information about other Black Restaurant Week events, see blackrestaurantweeks.com.