The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) recently published a working paper series that found that 41 percent of Black-owned businesses have been shuttered by COVID-19 compared to just 17 percent of white-owned businesses. So yes, most of these tips can be easily applied to supporting all restaurants, but I’m specifically talking about how to support Black-owned restaurants right now. Okay? Okay.
1. Nominate your favorite Black-owned restaurants for Discover’s #EatItForward sweepstakes
Discover recently launched their Eat It Forward program that encourages communities to share their favorite Black-owned restaurants on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter to nominate them for a chance to win $25,000 each.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see how easily I incorporated my nominations – I posted my pictures, tagged the Black-owned restaurants, added @Discover #EatItForward #Sweepstakes to my caption, then a Discover representatives left comments confirming my entries. So easy! Head to Discover.com/eatitforward for full details.
2. Patronize their business (to-go, strongly recommended)
Pre-pandemic, I dined at restaurants regularly, so I hit my “stay home and cook every meal” exhaustion months ago. Once I gauged how my favorite restaurants were navigating COVID-19 safety measures, I became the Curbside Queen. I don’t have anything much against delivery services like UberEats and DoorDash, but I live centrally in a city with 10,000+ restaurants. It’s simply more convenient for me to opt for curbside pickup and restaurants don’t have to fork over extra third-party fees.
If you want to support Black-owned businesses, patronize them.
3. Buy gift cards
Maybe you’re not comfortable ordering from restaurants right now, I understand. If your local faves offer gift cards, consider the “buy now, eat later” approach.
When the COVID-19 shutdowns first began and restaurants had to switch to to-go only, Lucille’s offered a 50% discount on gift cards. When placing my to-go orders, I’d add a couple of $50 gift cards for $25 each. They made for great gifts and convenient d and redeemed them months later. TGift card purchases generate revenue to kSupport now, eat later.
4. Leave praise on public platforms
I love that the social media spotlight has swung in the direction of Black-owned businesses. There are hundreds of lists. Everyone made one; even Beyonce! I also have a list of Houston Black-owned restaurants.
Whether you’ve always intentionally supported Black-owned businesses or you’re just entering the chat, when you have a great experience with a service, product, etc. tell people. You are an influencer, no matter how small your audience may be.
Personally, I love when my internet friends message me or tag me in their posts about checking out a restaurant I’ve recommended.
5. Send them feedback, privately.
I’m glad to see more people publicly support Black-owned businesses, but I’ve noticed an exorbitant amount of public complaints about issues that are understandable and, more importantly, easily fixed.
I can’t believe the number of people join internet groups intended to promote and support Black-owned restaurants just to complain about minor service issues. At face value, the complaints seem performative.
Forgot to put your extra condiments in the bag? Inconvenient.
That menu item you had your heart set on is sold out? Inconvenient, but aren’t you glad business was good today?
Some of my favorite restaurants have missed the mark on service at least once in my dining lifetime. I don’t think it’s an indictment of their inability to provide a great dining experience. Shit happens. I think it’s only fair to give the restaurant an opportunity to resolve your issues. In fact, a restaurant’s ability to effectively resolve an in issue highlights their values and how much they value their customers.
I intend to go into more detail about why I don’t publish negative reviews on my blog, but I want to sit with my words a bit longer. Until then, I’ll leave you with this: if the service you received didn’t meet your expectations, politely and constructively communicate that to the restaurant. Give them an opportunity to address your concerns directly.
If your first mind is skip that totally reasonable conflict resolution, to complain in a Facebook group instead of raising awareness with the establishment, are you looking for resolution or public validation that you were disappointed/inconvenienced?
Final Thoughts
This isn’t a pass for restaurants to not actively work towards providing the best customer experience. It’s more of a “Do Better, Be Patient” statement to both restaurants and consumers.
Whether you choose dine-in or to-go, I strongly encourages you to wear your mask and support Black-owned restaurants.
