AURORA, Colo. — This week, several Colorado restaurants are participating in Black Restaurant Week, a multistate marketing campaign aimed at increasing business for Black-owned restaurants.
“We understand that a lot of small businesses don't really have the funds to pay for marketing campaigns. Just with the support of our community partners, we can basically host marketing campaigns and help them do what they do. We can raise awareness about the great things that people are doing,” said Falyn Ferrell, managing partner of Black Restaurant Week. “When many restaurants were struggling due to COVID-19, we looked at our calendar and realized we didn't have enough space on our calendar to visit each city. We thought, “Well, why not divide the country into regions?''
Black Restaurant Week in the Southwest region, which includes Colorado, began on March 15th.
“It just gave us more buy-in to be able to access a smaller market that might not necessarily be well-known in the Black culinary world but still have something to offer to the conversation,” Ferrell said. said. “I think there’s great things happening in Denver and Phoenix and Las Vegas as well, and I think it’s often overlooked.”
Ferrell said Black Restaurant Week executives are also working to learn more about the challenges facing Black restaurant owners and track closures.
“I think the main problem in the restaurant industry is the lack of statistics. The only thing the National Restaurant Association actually reports is that 40% of restaurants are minority-owned. The Feed the Soul Foundation, a non-profit foundation, is working on an industry research paper that actually serves restaurant owners across the country because of the lack of data. Without data, challenges, obstacles. , I don't think you can understand success stories from a numerical perspective,” Ferrell said.
Hewan Kassa and Freweini Beine, owners of Endless Grind Coffee in Aurora, are participating in the week-long event.
“It was easy to sign up. It's like a guidebook. You can go to any city and say, 'I want to support Black-owned restaurants,'” Cassa said.
Endless Grind Coffee opened in 2017.
“When we first opened, we were the only roaster in the Aurora era and then the only black roaster in all of Colorado,” Cassa said.
“It was my passion to open a coffee shop because I want to teach about my culture,” Beyen said. “In my hometown in East Africa, I drink alcohol about three times a day. I drink coffee three times a day: in the morning, in the afternoon after lunch, and in the evening when I have family gatherings.''
Kassa said they have faced challenges and victories over the past seven years. They hope participating in Black Restaurant Week will bring in more customers.
Sunday, March 24th marks the final day of Black Restaurant Week in the Southwest Region. Click here for a list of participating companies.
Black Restaurant Week wants to help Colorado small businesses strengthen their marketing
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