Photo by Justin Fox Burks
When Cynthia Daniels moved to Memphis from Atlanta in 2009, she adopted what she calls the area’s “all things local” attitude.
“I love supporting local restaurants,” Daniels says.
Having participated in Downtown Dining Week, Daniels had a thought: Why not a Memphis Black Restaurant Week? Two months ago, she set about making it happen.
The inaugural Memphis Black Restaurant Week is set for March 7th-13th. Participating restaurants offer a two-course lunch for $15 or a three-course dinner for $25.
Daniels enlisted eight restaurants mostly in the downtown and Midtown area to target professionals and millennials. She decided to keep the figure small to see how it goes this year.
The eight restaurants are: DeJaVu, Mot & Ed’s, HM Dessert Lounge, Scoops Parlor, Evergreen Grill, The Bistro Memphis, Onix, and the Office at Uptown.
Mot & Ed’s is offering its famous stuffed turkey burger; the Bistro has the Cajun baked chicken and a ton of vegetable options; Scoops has both savory and sweet crepes on the menu; and DeJaVu has stuffed catfish with shrimp & crab meat dressing as a dinner selection. All menus will be online at blackrestaurantweek.com on March 1st.
Daniels imagines seeing Memphis Black Restaurant Week becoming a big, annual event — something like the Memphis Italian Festival or the Greek Festival.
“It’s not just for African Americans,” she says. “It’s for all of Memphis.”
