HOUSTON — For 8 years, the Houston area has hosted Black Restaurant Week.
The week features plenty of opportunities to try and celebrate the flavors of African American, African and Caribbean cuisine.
The goal is to increase the visibility of many Black-led restaurants tucked into the vibrant Houston-area restaurant scene.
“We have Nigerian cuisine, we have seafood cuisine, we have Cajun Creole,” said Black Restaurant Week Co-Founder Derek Robinson.
The options are many for Black Restaurant Week, a weeks-long campaign highlighting and supporting Black businesses. And it's not just restaurants in Houston participating.
Whether you're inside or outside the Houston loop, from the Third Ward, where Omg Seafood and Daiquiri Land live, to west Houston and the expanding Flava Wings, there are various places to visit.
Many people are exploring black-owned restaurants, bakeries, food trucks, and more— and the restaurants are seeing the benefits
“Pushing that foot traffic, making sure that individuals are able to really see a bump in their books," Robinson said. "Over the years we’ve seen about 15 to 20 percent increase in sales for restaurants during the Houston Black Restaurant Week campaign.”
For restaurant owners like Krishna Buford, she says it’s the soul that goes into what they do every day that separates restaurants like them.
“It’s just, the public can have an appreciation for what we can stir up from our soul in the kitchen to their palates," Buford, the owner of Flava Wings, said.
Check out the more than 130 restaurants participating in the campaign on BlackRestaurantWeeks.com.