Linda Falkenstein
Nisa Carter sitting at a table with samples of her gumbo, hush puppies and fried chicken wings.
Nisa Carter of Sista's Chicken & Fish sampling her gumbo and hushpuppies, and fried chicken wings, in advance of Madison Black Restaurant Week.
Madison Black Restaurant Week, one of the first in the country — possibly the very first — builds on a firm foundation as it comes back for its eighth year this Aug. 13-20.
As in previous years, the week highlights Black-owned restaurants, food carts, caterers and specialty food producers.
Madison Black Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Camille Carter also gives a shout-out to the farmers who provide some of the food for area Black-owned restaurants, at the restaurant week launch on July 27 held in the new, Black-owned event space called Hayes Place in the Northgate Shopping Center.
“There’s a lot of magic that happens around Black Restaurant Week,” said Carter, recalling coming up with the idea with the late Milele Chikasa Anana in 2016. “She was a champion of restaurants and wanted to celebrate the culinary arts.” A few Black restaurant weeks popped up that same year for the first time, and have since become an initiative across the country.
The Madison Black Chamber of Commerce wants to help restaurant week participants make partnerships and gain visibility — because marketing is not always something start-up restaurateurs have time for, as they’re often working the kitchen “sunup to sundown,” said Carter. She urged corporations to hire a Black-owned catering business to cater a lunch for their employees, for instance.
Depending on the nature of the business, Carter said, revenue can increase from 25% to as much as 75% during BRW. She also credited a strong partnership with FEED Kitchens, the Northside Planning Council and the city of Madison for supporting the endeavor.
The week includes special menus and dishes at participating restaurants, a Food Taste Jamboree on Aug. 20 in the FEED Kitchen parking lot, and, new to BRW this year, a soul food brunch at Robinia Courtyard on Aug. 13, which is not only a chance to highlight the work of local Black-owned catering businesses, but a networking opportunity.
While participants in the 2023 week are still signing up, already a diverse group of cuisines are represented, including Costa Rican, American soul food, barbecue, jerk, Jamaican, West African and vegetarian.
Nisa Carter of food truck Sista’s Chicken & Fish, who’s handing out samples of her chicken wings, hush puppies and gumbo at the launch, tells Isthmus that the networking that comes along with BRW has really helped promote her business, which launched in 2020 near the start of the pandemic. She says Sista’s will have specials during restaurant week, during which the food truck will be keeping its regular schedule, which can be found on its Facebook page.
Jodie Jefferson of House of Flavas, 4905 Commercial Ave. in the CP Mart, is also sampling at the launch. Her menu changes depending on what she feels like cooking, but there’s always “soul food on the weekend,” and she plans on restaurant week dinner specials of $8.19, to pay tribute to the date the restaurant opened two years ago on Aug. 19, which is also her birthday.
Others participating so far include Artemis Provisions and Cheese, Ernie’s Homemade Hot Sauce, Shades of You Shades of Me, Cafe Costa Rica, Cliff’s Willy Street Eats, Holisac Taste of Africa, JustVeggiez, Keur Fatou, Kingdom, Marie’s Soul Food, Melly Mel’s, Taco Sunrise, the Walking Jerk and Propa Jerk & BBQ.
Tickets for the soul food brunch, hosted by the Artists Collective at Robinia Courtyard on Aug. 13, will be available in advance through Eventbrite and at the door.
The Food Taste Jamboree at the FEED Kitchens, 1219 N. Sherman Ave., on Aug. 20, from 2-5 p.m., features small plates for $5; advance tasting tickets will be available through the Madison Black Restaurant Week website starting Aug. 1, or at the event.
