Although COVID-19 dashed Black People Eats founder Jeremy Joyce’s plans for an in-person Juneteenth celebration this summer, the “online” alternative proved to be a major success anyway, drawing long lines for participating restaurants and raising additional funds via donations.
This past weekend Joyce and Black People Eats debuted a similar event called “Blaktober” for this month. 76 local Black-owned restaurants will dish out special offers on each weekend throughout October as a way to encourage guests to come out, celebrate and support Black-owned restaurants.
In addition to the restaurant food specials, Joyce is adding some virtual programming to this month’s event. Blaktober’s website offers downloadable recipes from local Black chefs, and all guests can join virtual cooking demonstrations and workouts weekly. The cooking demos will feature chefs from participating restaurants, which will sell meal kits to participate in the demos.
VIP tickets are also available, including additional access to the cooking demos, plus a happy hour, Afrobeats dance class, game night and cookie decorating event.
Joyce was inspired to create the event after seeing that Black History Month is celebrated during October in other countries, including the Netherlands and the UK, he said in an email. He hopes to recreate the success from June’s campaign, when people customers turned out in such high numbers that restaurants sold out of specials. Joyce was even able to raise additional $75,000 in donations that was distributed among the 54 participating restaurants.
Tickets and the full list of events can be found on the Eventbrite page. The complete list of participants is below:
5 Loaves Eatery
AndySunflower Cafe
B’Gabs Vegan Kitchen
B&B Ice cream and candy
Batter & Berries
Bronzeville Wingz
Brown Sugar Bakery
Bureau Bar and Restaurant
Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat
Chicago Food on the Run
Cleo’s Southern Cuisine
Cooking with Curves
D&D’s Place
Da Jerk Pit
Deli King Inc.
Dock’s
Doughboy’s Chicago
Easy Living Juice Bar
Emeche Cakery
Flammin Restaurant
Flavours Seafood Bar
Flippin Flavors
FruVe xPress Juicery
Garifuna Flava
Golden Gloves Cuisine
Good To Go Jamaican Restaurant
Haire’s Gulf Shrimp
Harold’s Chicken on Broadway
Honey 1 BBQ
How Bao Dat
J Spice
Kilwin’s Chocolates Fudge and Ice Cream
Kizin Creole Restaurant
Kozy Korner Deli & Catering
Lexington Betty Smoke House
Litehouse Evanston
LiteHouse Grill
Live And Believe Nutrition
Lizzy J Cafe
Luella’s Southern Kitchen
Mabe’s Deli
Mae’s Que House
Majani
Mikkey’s 47 Express
Mikkeys Retro Grill Stony Island
Munchiez
Nea’s Lunch House
Nita’s Gumbo
Ohana Ice & Treats
On Point Cafe
Peach’s Restaurant
Phlavz
Pink Panini Soups & Salads
Plant Based Junkie
Poppin Dough
Schweet Original Homemade Chicago cheesecake
Simply Soups Salads and Sandwiches
Some Like It Black Creative Arts Bar
Soule Chicago
South Shore Brew
Sugar Head
Surf’s Up (Bronzeville, Old Town and South Shore)
Sweet Dreams Frozen Yogurt
Tastes of Bri
Taylor’s Tacos (inside Dock’s Fish)
Tee’s Cakes & Confections
The Grail Cafe
The Wrap Bar
Two Fish Crab Shack
VelvetLuxe Pastries
