With the local restaurant industry hard hit and still feeling the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Madison Black Restaurant Week is a time for area Black-owned establishments to declare, “We’re still here!”
The sixth annual Black Restaurant Week began on Sunday, Aug. 8 and continues through Sunday, Aug. 15, and enables local residents looking to expand their culinary palates to eat from nearly 40 restaurants, food carts, caterers, and specialty food service providers.
“Our Black-owned businesses work tirelessly to produce nutritious, satisfying, and flavorful food to this community,” Camille Carter, president and CEO of the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce, says. “This year more than ever, we aim to celebrate their resiliency and hope our community members will keep them in mind for future dining, takeout, and catering. Also, this year, we are adding more community engagement activities to include pop-up kitchen events and BRW Bingo to win prizes.”
Businesses taking part in Black Restaurant Week span across the Greater Madison area, including Monona and Sun Prairie. New participants this year include Granny’s Kitchen and Roche’s Taste of Chicago.
According to Carter, Black Restaurant Week continues to get stronger and more relevant each year. This year is notably important due to the effects the pandemic and the deep financial impact it’s having on Black businesses.
“This year is about their recovery,” explains Carter. “They need for customers to know that they are still open and available to be of service. Customer and community support will help them keep their doors open beyond these challenging times.”
Among those challenges is one that nearly all restaurants are currently facing — staffing.
“Our local restaurant community is very hard-working, extremely resilient, and resourceful,” notes Carter. “They struggle with hiring, having adequate and reliable staffing, and the overall maintenance of restaurant challenges. They earn every bit of profit they make. They bring their passion into the food they serve and deserve to remain a part of our community legacy. I know they will survive and recover from the COVID setbacks. They already have weathered many obstacles. We want them to thrive.”
Like last year, a Food Tasting Jamboree will take place from 2–5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15 in the FEED Kitchens (1219 N. Sherman Ave.) parking lot. The event will feature $5 samples from caterers, food carts, and specialty food service providers and follow extra safety precautions to help ensure social distancing for the health and wellness of visitors and vendors. Advanced tickets can be purchased online for additional convenience. Volunteer opportunities are also available.
“People need and love to eat!” says Carter. “Many of our restaurants have remained stable and continue to adapt to the changing times and the state of public health challenges. Some of our restaurants still only offer limited capacity seating or curbside pickup-only service in order to maintain safe establishments. We each have our personal level of comfort but customers still need to patronize their businesses. We at the Madison Black Chamber just want to continue to support them and find ways to help them connect them with opportunities, resources, and their customers. Black Restaurant Week and our Soul Food Sunday Marketplace, which offers monthly entrees from over 15 caterer kitchens from our online store, are just a few solutions that help to meet these goals.
“Additionally, we’ve seen many new catering businesses and food carts emerge too,” Carter adds. “These entrepreneurs often participate in lean, creative initiatives like pop-up kitchens and events. The community needs to know about them and follow them on social media.”
For further details, including a full list of participants, visit madisonblackchamber.com/brw2021.
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