Black Restaurant Week LLC celebrates the flavors of African American, African and Caribbean cuisine with a series of regional cultural events and aims to support Black-owned culinary businesses with substantial programming outside of their 10 or 14-day, multi-city tour across the United States.

"We're in the trenches with the owners and operators, which is why we created our Feed the Soul Foundation Restaurant Business Development Fund," - Falayn Ferrell, Black Restaurant Week, LLC's Operations Managing Partner.

The organization revisited its "More Than Just a Week" campaign for their eighth year in service. The objective is to restimulate local economies within the Black community by promoting Black-owned culinary businesses and professionals who cannot afford to implement costly and independent advertising/marketing efforts especially during the nation's indeterminate financial status. Outside of heritage travel, residents do not visit local businesses as they are unaware of what is available in their neighborhood and nearby cities.

The odds are continuously stacked against Black-owned culinary businesses and their survival is still in jeopardy as they face constant economic downturns due to recovering from the pandemic while currently coping with inflation. According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, 500,000 restaurants and bars are faced with an uncertain future due to lost revenue and increased debt over the past 2 years.

How do we help Black-owned culinary businesses survive? The campaign introduces a key component that aims to boost visibility. The organization has partnered with Stella Artois to host curated culinary events, pairing soulful dishes with the premium Belgian beer in markets including Atlanta, DC, Houston, Chicago, and New York.

"During the pandemic, we've partnered with several corporations to produce and provide DEI opportunities for Black-owned culinary businesses to build awareness within the community and potential expansion opportunities," shares Warren Luckett, Black Restaurant Week, LLC's founder. "Through our NOSH Culinary Competition program, we secured a permanent retail space for Dolo's Pizza within State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Additionally, we partnered with NASCAR, who hosts Black-owned food trucks during events in Richmond throughout the summer in addition to a series of 'Cars & Coffee' Los Angeles-based events in August honoring Black Business Month and February for Black History Month."

"We're in the trenches with the owners and operators, which is why we created our Feed the Soul Foundation Restaurant Business Development Fund," states Falayn Ferrell, Black Restaurant Week, LLC's Operations Managing Partner. "We understand they need 'more than just a week' of support to thrive in such a competitive industry. Through the support of our corporate partners, the foundation is able to provide funding and business development to create sustainability for minority-owned culinary businesses. We are witnessing so much growth from our 2021 and 2022 cohorts from expansion to brick-and-mortar locations to e-commerce opportunities to sell culinary products across the United States."

"As a brand that has been dedicated to the industry for years, and a longstanding partner of Black Restaurant Week in local markets, Stella is thrilled to bring this partnership to a national scale this year," says Marcela Garcia, VP of Marketing for Stella Artois. "Our work with Black Restaurant Week and Feed the Soul Foundation will ensure that minority-owned neighborhood restaurants, as well as chefs from under-represented groups across the US get the recognition to ensure a long and successful future."

Participating restaurants can join at no cost and benefit from the campaign by receiving marketing materials to place within its establishment, digital assets to share online and on their respective social media platforms along with an opportunity to be featured in local media outlets.

Black Restaurant Week was founded in 2016 by three friends who shared a unified voice for their community: founder Warren Luckett and managing partners Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson. It began as a one-city food experience in Houston where participants can dine in or order from a litany of Black-owned restaurants in their city. The mission: provide complimentary marketing and PR services for the business under the BRW campaign, educate consumers on the abundance of cultural cuisines within their neighborhood and share the disparities faced by minority-owned businesses. Since 2016, the organization has supported more than 3,000 restauranteurs, bartenders, chefs, caterers, and food trucks.

Last year, the organization supported 1,700 Black-owned culinary businesses across the United States – including Toronto and Vancouver – through its restaurant weeks, culinary events and website directory. where participants generated an average of 15% sales increase.

2023 campaign initiatives and events include, but are not limited to:

Free entry-level business registration and inclusion in national culinary directory organization's website

Small Business Grants and Business Development training from Black Restaurant Week's non-profit Feed the Soul Foundation.

Curated Stella Artois activations in key markets to amplify community support to local chefs

Donation program with Stella Artois where a portion of proceeds from drafts and bottles sold are donated to Feed the Soul Foundation*.

For more information about Black Restaurant Week, its events, and participating restaurants, please visit: blackrestaurantweeks.com

*$0.01 for every Stella Artois draft or bottle sold at participating locations from 4/2/2023 through 11/30/2023, maximum $100,000.