Midwest Black Restaurant Week Starts Today: Here’s a List for KC Aligning Mouths With Money

One simple way to support the Black community is to put your money where your mouth is. 

A lot of restaurants, especially Black-owned establishments, have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporters of Midwest Black Restaurant Week, running July 24 through Aug. 2,  are dedicated to promoting these restaurants and helping them recover. 

Black Restaurant Weeks have been staged since 2016. Promoters highlight a area’s black-owned restaurants for a week, plus you can have some fun with it and play bingo. On a budget? There is a prix-fixe menu starting at $10 at participating restaurants. 

Yelp, known for crowd-sourced reviews, recently created a local impact report that revealed the search term “black-owned” is up 426% on its app. The graphic below shows the increase searches for Black-owned businesses by each state from the week of May 24 to the week of May 31. Notably, Missouri saw one of the larger increases in the country.

---

Surging Interest in Black-owned Businesses

Source: Yelp: Local Economic Impact Report

---

The surge in interest coincided with protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. In the wake of Floyd’s death, many people sought to support Black-owned businesses.

The following list provides updated information on Black-owned restaurants in the Kansas City area. Also, watch the attached video for more information.

18th & Vine

The KC Juke House -1700 E 18th St.

SMAXX – 1827 Vine St.

Soiree Steak & Oyster House – 1514 E. 18th St.

The Velvet Freeze Daiquiris – 1827 Vine St.

Blue Hills / Rockhurst

District Fish & Pasta – 1664 E. 63rd St.

Equal Minded Cafe – 4327 Troost Ave.

Lufti’s Fried Fish – 1664 E. 63rd St.

Gates Bar-B-Q – 1325 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd.

King’s Table Soul Food – 5932 Prospect Ave. #3626

Niecie’s – 6441 Troost Ave.

Reggae Kitchen – 5535 Troost Ave.

Urban Cafe KC – 5500 Troost Ave. & Food Truck Locations

Yogurtini (Plaza) –  4853 Main St.

Crossroads / Downtown / River Market /

West Bottoms

All American Diner – (Inside Hy-Vee Arena) 1800 Genessee St

Blue Nile Cafe – 20 E. 5th St.

Dream Muscle Coffee – 2540 W Pennway St.

KC Daiquiri Shop – 1116 Grand Blvd.

East Side

Gates Bar-B-Q – 1221 Brooklyn Ave.

Peachtree Cafe’Teria — 2128 E. 12th St.

Sankofa Cafe & Bar – 4240 Indiana Ave.

Eastwood

Big T’s Bar B Q – 6201 Blue Pkwy.

Buck Naked Wings – 5912 Blue Pkwy.

Charlie D’s & Son Catfish – 3123 Swope Pkwy. and 5111 Ararat Drive

LC’s Bar-B-Q – 5800 Blue Pkwy.

Peachtree Buffet – 6800 Eastwood Trfy.

Independence

Gate’s Bar-B-Q – 10440 E. U.S. 40

Lufti’s Fried Fish – 4201 S. Noland Road #A

My Village Grill – 3010 MO-291 S

Topknotch Vegan Vittles – Pick up & delivery only, pop-up locations

Kansas City, Kansas

Brown Sugar Chicken & Donuts – 3708 State Ave.

Elevate Bar & Grill – 7543 State Ave.

Jones BBQ – 6706 Kaw Drive

Ms. R’s Cafe – 720 Quindaro Blvd.

Wilson’s Pizza & Grill – 1801 Quindaro Blvd.

Lee’s Summit

Jazzy B’s Diner – 1803 #B, N.E. Colbern Road

Krab Kingz Seafood -320 S.W. Blue Pkwy.

Unk’s Burgers – 240 N.W. Oldham Pkwy. #1520

Midtown / Westport

Awaze (Ethiopian Cuisine) – 3415 Main St.

Fannie’s African Cuisine – 4105 Troost Ave.

Gates Bar-B-Q – 3205 Main St.

Gigi’s Vegan + Wellness Café – 1103 Westport Rd.

Island Spice Caribbean Restaurant – 10 W. 39th St.

Krab Kingz Seafood – 3805 Broadway Blvd.

Lufti’s Fried Fish – 3037 Main St.

M&M Bakery & Delicatessen – 1721 E. 31st St.

Mesob Restaurant – 3601 Broadway Blvd.

Ruby Jeans Juicery – 3000 Troost Ave.

Wings Cafe – 3927 Broadway Blvd.

Northland

Lufti’s Fried Fish – 307 N.E. Englewood Road

Wings Cafe – 516 N.W. Englewood Road

Wingz & More – 113 W. Kansas St.

Yogurtini Shoal Creek – 8375 N. Booth Ave.

Overland Park / Leawood / Shawnee

Elsa’s (Ethiopian Cuisine) – 8016 Santa Fe Dr.

Gates Bar-B-Q – 2001 W. 103rd Terr.

Lufti’s Fried Fish – 13225 Shawnee Mission Pkwy.

Taste of Africa Restaurant – 11240 W 135th St.

Raytown

Kitchen III – 6020 Blue Ridge Blvd.

Lufti’s Fried Fish – 9120 E. Missouri 350

Taylor Elizabeth Cakes – 6225 Blue Ridge Blvd.

Rockhill / Waldo

G’s Jamaican Cuisine – 7940 Troost Ave.

Game Day Chicken Wings & Fish – 8950 Wornall Road

Mattie’s Vegan Foods – 633 E. 63rd St.

Steak’m Take’m – 7702 Troost Ave.

Vee’s Sweets & Treats – 8005 The Paseo

South Kansas City

Big Momma’s Bakery-Cafe – 4707 Bannister Road Ste. B

Big T’s Bar B Q – 9409 Blue Ridge Blvd.

Charlie D’s & Son Catfish – 600 E. 99th St.

Wingz & More – 11902 Blue Ridge Blvd.

Food Trucks

KC’s Wingbar

R&R Paseo Grill

Mattie’s Foods (Vegan)

Editor’s note: This list has been updated to reflect changes between Black Restaurant Week 2020 and Black Restaurant Week 2021. Please feel free to send additional suggestions to Flatland food producer Emily Woodring at ewoodring@kansascitypbs.org

Enter Email