Amid nationwide calls to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, black-owned restaurants in Baton Rouge have seen a surge in business. However, some local restaurant owners are noticing interest already dying down.
Plant Based Sweets by Lotus, a vegan pop-up bakery, saw its sales peak June 3 with a 60% uptick from the week before, says Maria Howard, who co-owns the bakery with husband Allen. The two- to-three-day surge had the Howards serving doughnuts to a winding line of people in the Whole Foods parking lot one day, and shipping orders to new, predominately white, customers in Atlanta, Austin and New Orleans. But on Saturday, the momentum slowed.
“In order for us to be successful, we need the support of the entire community,” says Howard, whose mobile business is currently offering delivery and pickup options. “We really just want to be seen.”
Other business owners also say they’ve gotten more attention from new customers within the past seven days than usual. Brandon Lee and Trina Kendrick, who own the Crave by Sweet and Savory food truck, say they’ve seen a 25% sales spike from customers of all ethnic groups.
And while Cupcake Junkie owner Robyn Selders has actually seen sales grow during the coronavirus pandemic by changing hours to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offering delivery from 3-6 p.m., her business has grown even more since community protests began, she says.
She was also pleasantly surprised when another local baker, Sara Joy Hayes of CounterSpace BR, messaged her to see if there was anything she could do to lend her support.
“It’s great for other people to wake up and see that we’re out here and support us, especially because the black community regularly puts our dollars into lots of other communities’ businesses,” says Selders, who has owned the cupcake shop for three years. “Based on personal feedback and social media comments, I think my new customers have been satisfied with what they’ve received.”
Meanwhile, D’Andra Odom, who co-owns Odom’s Kitchen catering company with her chef husband, Brandon, says she’s noticed an uptick in traffic to her business’s website and social media pages, which she attributes to being placed on lists of black-owned restaurants recently published by 225 magazine and other local media outlets. It has translated to a roughly 30% increase in phone calls from new customers inquiring about her customized meal prep and catering services, which Odom hopes will soon materialize into new business.
While she welcomes the spike in interest, Odom challenges the local community to continue supporting black-owned businesses, particularly restaurants, even after the “adrenaline” of the #BlackLivesMatter movement wanes. Long term, it’s important to recognize that black businesses, specifically, are at a disadvantage when it comes to marketing and accessing small business loans, says Odom, who ultimately wants to have a brick-and-mortar location.
“Black families have been providers of meals for a long time, and it wasn’t that long ago that black people weren’t even allowed to visit local restaurants and lunch counters,” she says. “Let’s continue elevating these restaurants from their history of servitude. Don’t look at them as an afterthought.”
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