Discover new places and show support for restaurants, bakeries, caterers and food trucks from black owners
It’s Black Restaurant Week in Tallahassee, a time to show support for our local entrepreneurs and discover a few more gems.
Our Capital City can celebrate the presence of JoEllen’s, the first black-owned restaurant in downtown Tallahassee. Chef Leon C. Brunson is getting accolades for his culinary skills, and is working on his new cafe and event space in Lake Ella. Pineappetit owner Sam Burgess operates a restaurant featuring his island-themed cuisine, a food truck and he’s the author of a cookbook. We now have a restaurant and boutique called Halisi Africa in Railroad Square.
Add to that many other black-owned restaurants, bakeries, caterers and food trucks.
“Black Restaurant Week offers ways to promote and support these businesses,” said Falayn Ferrell, a manager partner behind Black Restaurant Week, which takes place in Tallahassee until Nov. 20. “A lot of small businesses don’t have the capital to carry out a marketing campaign.”
Events like Black Restaurant Week “bring overall awareness in the hopes the community finds out and supports restaurants they haven’t tried before,” Falayn said.
Black Restaurant Week started in Houston in 2016. When Covid hit, the need to help small businesses became more acute, she said.
Restaurant week highlights the varied cuisine offered at black-owned restaurants, said Falayn. “It’s not always soul food.”
Among the participating restaurants in 2022 Restaurant Week in Tallahassee are: Agapé’s Lemonade, Big D BBQ, Crabs on the run, LLC, Halisi Africa, Leon’s at Lake Ella, Right On ‘Que, Tally Kombucha, V Treats, The Chocolate Dandies Pineappetit, 509 Caribbean Cuisine; Pjsubs llc; Jmo’s SneauxBall Catering Co.; Soulful and Strike Nutrition.
Black Restaurant Week also runs a grant program called /Feed the Soul Foundation | Black Restaurant Week Non-Profit Foundation . Check their website for more information on how to apply: https://feedthesoulfou.org/
For more information about Black Restaurant Week, see this article by Kayla A. Stafford in the Tallahassee Democrat: https://www.tallahassee.com/…/black…/10668257002/
Photos here include many of our black restaurateurs in Tallahassee: Chef Shac, owner of Soulful by Chef Shac; Bourne Brilliant, a trio of sisters — Lyrica, Zaira and Nadira, 10; The Chocolate Dandies; Leon Brunson, owner of Leon’s at Lake Ella; Teresa and Joe Nix, owner of JoEllen’s Burgess, owner of Pineappetit; Eric McKinnon, owner of Leola’s Crab Shack; Sneauxball’s logo; Tastee Turkey LEG General Manager Sheena Thompson (photo credit Tastee Turkey Leg); Dwyane Ash, owner of Oh’ Lemonade; Michael Robinson and Adam Kent, owners of Ma’s Diner; cakes from Jennifer Young, owner of TC Bakery; Alexis Conner of Boards by Alexis, Olean McCaskill, owner of Olean’s Cafe; Shishandra Devlin, owner of Bougie With A Board; Halisi owner Vanessa Byrd and son and boutique manager Bryant Shaw (photo credit Chastity Maynard / Tallahassee Democrat); Nicole and Billy “Mo” Hollaway, owners of 1 Mo-Betta BBQ; cupcakes from Decadent Delights Tally, owned by Arkeba Bouie; Crabs on the Run, owned by Chef Shayna Green-Hawkins, G&G Caribbean Restaurant – Apalachee Parkway; Barb McGarrah, owner of Barb’s Gourmet Brittles.
