Black Restaurant Week in the D.C. region kicks off Sunday, July 16.
The Shaw neighborhood’s FishScale is one of the dozens of restaurants participating this year. Kristal Williams, co-owner of the ocean-to-table eatery, said being part of previous Black Restaurant Weeks boosted sales.
“It helps with promoting a lot of small businesses that may not have the bandwidth to do large marketing,” Williams told WTOP. “We are just excited to participate.”
This year, FishScale will be offering a discount on their Chesapeake Cheesesteak — its take on the Philly favorite using sustainably caught blue catfish.
Williams said the event brings awareness to Black and African American cuisine, which is a staple of D.C. culture.
“It helps to say who and what D.C. is,” Williams said. “While we love to see our city improve, I do want to make sure that some of the core factors and the foundations of the city remain.”
Black Restaurant Week was founded in Houston in 2016 by three friends who wanted to highlight the city’s Black-owned restaurants. They’ve since held similar Restaurant Weeks in cities across the country and in Canada. The organization said last year that it showcased 1,250 Black-owned culinary businesses and generated an average 15% increase in sales.
On Monday, July 17, there will be a kickoff mixer at The Delegate rooftop in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.
