How Black Restaurant Week Atlanta 2025 is supporting Black-owned spots

Atlanta restaurants are experiencing ebbs and flows.

From escalating costs in products and real estate to a lack of parking options, spots like West Egg Café, Taco Mac, Culinary Dropout and Slim and Husky’s were forced to close permanently.

But Atlanta resident Warren Luckett, who founded Black Restaurant Week in Houston in 2016, is convinced more can be done to keep Black-owned restaurants open and profitable. He created Black Restaurant Week, now in 15 markets, to support and provide resources to Black-owned restaurants and culinary professionals.

Black Restaurant Week, which is now in its seventh year in Atlanta, begins today and runs through Aug. 17. The two-week event spotlights more than 40 businesses with dishes spanning the African diaspora.

Luckett told UATL his goal is to continue to expose people to the diversity of Black food and businesses in Atlanta.

“We want to showcase how robust we are outside of the cuisine we’re traditionally known for. The restaurants are the stars of the show, so it allows us to showcase multiple facets of the culinary industry and get people to eat their food,” Luckett said.

Participating restaurants for 2025 include Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen and Bar in West Midtown and Conyers, Ray’s Southern Foods in Forest Park, Southern National in Summerhill, Marquis Restaurant and Lounge inside of Cascade Skating Rink, downtown’s Auburn Angel, Vine City’s Busy Bee Cafe and Caribbean spots Apt. 4B and Spice House Midtown.

This year, Luckett has created additional platforms to support Black culinary professionals.

Black Restaurant Week will host its inaugural Bites and Birdies Golf Invitational on Saturday at Canongate 1 Golf Club in Sharpsburg. Proceeds will benefit Feed the Soul Foundation, the event’s nonprofit organization that funds scholarships for students studying culinary arts, hospitality and marketing.

Feed the Soul Foundation recently launched a culinary business network on its website with tutorials, videos and insights from culinary professionals. Luckett is also creating a rebate program for restaurants to submit purchasing reports to recoup expenses from day-to-day operations.

Luckett says these programs can preserve cultural connections to Black cuisine.

“Our goal is to continue to provide support for restaurants throughout the year. Our culture has been misappropriated for too long, and history can be rewritten. New American isn’t new to us, so we must (make efforts) that showcase and celebrate the type of food that we have to offer,” he said.

Local restaurants are offering special deals and packages and preparing staff to expect new and returning customers.

Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen and Bar, a Geechee and Lowcountry restaurant, has participated in Black Restaurant Week since 2019. It’s offering diners one of its 15 appetizers, like Gullah egg rolls or bussin’ corn muffins, for free with the purchase of an entree.

Virgil’s co-owner, Gee Smalls, said he chose appetizers to encourage customers to explore the menu beyond staples like its Afta Church Plate , which comes with four fried chicken wings, collard greens and macaroni and cheese.

“Customers will come in, only get an entree, and we want them to experience the amazing items we have,” he said.

Gee Smalls, co-owner and chef at Virgil's Gullah Kitchen and Bar. (Courtesy of Mia Yakel)

Anticipating an increase in foot traffic, Smalls is allowing existing staff to work extra shifts, conducting extra training with them, and is preparing additional food to cut the waiting time. He said participating in Black Restaurant Week regularly has landed Virgil’s media placements and increases sales.

“They (Black Restaurant Week) always send people our way, so we try to retain them. We’re just getting prepared to serve our guests because we like to treat them like family friends,” Smalls said.

Black Coffee Company — which started in 2018 as pop-ups nationwide before opening in Jonesboro, Morehouse College and a cart inside Grady Memorial Hospital — have specials including their most popular drinks: the “Light Skin Keisha,” a vanilla lavender latte with oat milk drizzled with honey; a “Brown Skin Girl,” a caramel, brown sugar and cinnamon latte; or a matcha tea-based specialty drink called “Cash Money.”

Customers can make combos with the “ATL,” an avocado spread with arugula, onions, tomatoes and balsamic glaze made fresh daily on sourdough toast for $17.25. They can substitute the “ATL” for a “Young Cheesy,” Black Coffee’s elevated take on a grilled cheese sandwich, for $14.75.

Credit: Madelynne Grace

The ATL, one of Black Coffee Company's signature items, comes with an avocado spread, arugula, tomatoes and onions on sourdough toast. The dish is one of the specials offered during Black Restaurant Week, which started Sunday and runs through Aug. 17. (Courtesy of Madelynne Grace)

Black Coffee Company CEO Jamin Butler has participated in Black Restaurant Week in Los Angeles since 2019. He said he chose the menu specials because those are customer favorites.

“Those are our most popular drinks and food items that sell out most days everywhere we go, so we wanted to provide our best offerings for Black Restaurant Week,” Butler said.

Credit: Madelynne Grace

Brown Skin Girl, one of Black Coffee Company's signature beverages, is offered during Black Restaurant Week 2025. (Courtesy of Madelynne Grace)

For Black Restaurant Week, Butler is bringing in a DJ, holding additional meetings to inform his staff and designing new graphics with special promotions to place in stores and social media. He calls being part of Black Restaurant Week “a community.”

“They share us across their networks, showed us how to market, budget and gave us packets to show how small businesses can leverage tools and technology to keep our costs low. There is no blueprint or class tailored to the challenges that we face daily, but I can tap into them when there’s someone I need to come to,” Butler said.

Crescent City Kitchen, an all-day brunch spot with a New Orleans twist located in Midtown, is making its debut with Black Restaurant Week this year.

Crescent City Kitchen is offering 15% off popular items like croffles — a croissant waffle that comes in flavors like bananas Foster and Georgia peach — and voodoo rolls, a fried egg roll with crawfish, shrimp, Cajun grilled chicken, mozzarella cheese and a homemade Creole sauce. There are also discounted cocktail flights with either mimosas, martinis or lemon drops.

Crystal Drakes, co-owner of Crescent City Kitchen, said she will be hands-on in the restaurant during the promotion.

“We’re not just walking through the building. We’ll be doing everything our staff does like busing tables, preparing food and making sure the customers are happy,” she said.

Credit: Crescent City Kitchen

One of Crescent City Kitchen's signature items, the croffle, is a cross between a waffle and croissant. Croffles and voodoo rolls will be offered at 15% off. (Courtesy of Crescent City Kitchen)

Drakes is serving breakfast to the golfers at Bites and Birdies. She hopes the opportunity will turn into serving regular customers.

“They’re putting us in front of different clientele and eyes who don’t know about us. Hopefully it will continue to allow us to be busy throughout the year,” she said.

Luckett envisions expanding Black Restaurant Week to international markets like South Africa in the next two years. He said seeing international spots opening in the suburbs indicates a demand in showcasing various food options.

“Atlanta is continuing to position itself as an international food destination, and the explosion of international cuisine on Buford Highway shows how diverse the food is,” he said.