Black Restaurant Week in Seattle: ‘This gives us a chance to highlight ourselves’

SEATTLE – Friday marks the first day of Black Restaurant Week in Seattle and other parts of Washington.

The event offers Black-owned restaurants throughout Oregon and Washington an opportunity to build awareness of locally Black-owned culinary businesses. The campaign runs through March 3 with more than a dozen Seattle businesses participating.

“Some Black-owned businesses and restaurants are sometimes off the beaten path. We want to highlight what we have to offer,” said Taste of the Caribbean & Red Lounge co-owner Carlene Comrie. “The week really just gives us a chance to highlight ourselves, be a part of something great, and really try to win new customers.”

According to a press release, Black Restaurant Week’s (BRW) mission is to provide complimentary marketing and PR services for the businesses 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 last year, the organization has showcased 1,250 Black-owned culinary businesses across the United States last year, including in Toronto and Vancouver, to help increase sales.

Since its inception, the organization has supported more than 3,000 restauranteurs, bartenders, chefs, caterers, and food trucks.

Black Restaurant Week Seattle participants include: 

“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” said BRW founder Warren Luckett. “Now, the price of food is soaring. From being overlooked for revitalization funds to inflation, most Black-owned culinary businesses cannot afford advertisements/PR/marketing to build awareness and attract consumers. That’s why we proudly do this for free – it’s peer-to-peer support for 10 days within each market and for the past seven years.”