Black Food Week To Showcase Austin 'Pillars Of The Community'

AUSTIN, TX — Food surely nourishes the body, but some meals also nourish the soul. To that dual end, the upcoming Black Food Week aims to showcase black-owned restaurants that are not mere eateries, but community focal points.

Organized by the Austin Justice Coalition, the week-long event starts on Sunday Aug. 5. A third aim of the initiative is to encourage support for black-owned businesses in Austin, where the black population is about 8 percent.

Highlighting black-owned businesses in Austin is made more urgent given an exodus of black residents amid demographic shifts fueled by gentrification. A 2014 report by the University of Texas lay bare the startling nature of this displacement, yielding Austin as the only major metropolitan area in the U.S. to be losing its black residents to displacement. As reported by multiple media outlets, including Ebony magazine, Black Austin experienced a 5.4 percent population dip between 2000 and 2010, making it the only large city to see a decline in Black residents.

This population dip occurred in spite of an overall population boost of 20.4 percent during the same time period, the study found, making Austin the third-fastest growing city in the country behind Fort Worth, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C. Contrary to Austin's black growth, those two cities saw increases in their black populations of 28 percent and 43.5 percent, respectively.

Analyzing local demographic changes points to the growing urgency of supporting the city's black-owned businesses, deemed "pillars of the community" by the AJC. "We hope that the community not only finds these restaurants as enjoyable dining experience, but also an educational tool that prompts supporting locally owned minority businesses," the group's press advisory reads.

Black Food Week will be able to visit the showcased restaurants at any point during their hours of operation or participate in "Eat and Greet" social hours. The week-long observance takes place from Aug. 5-11.

"We hope that the entire community can come out and enjoy some great eats and network as we continue to build community," AJC officials said. The featured restaurants for Black Food Week are:

Sunday, Aug. 5

Soul Food Sunday - Roland's

Hours of Operation: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Eat and Greet: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 6

Mr. Catfish
1144 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78702
Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Eat and Greet: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 7

Big Easy Bar and Grill
1806 E. 12th Street, Austin Texas 78702
Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Eat and Greet (w/ Live Jazz Band): 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 9

Hoover's Cooking
2002 Manor Rd., Austin, Texas 78722
Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Eat and Greet (Hoover's Happy Hour): 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 9

Tony's Jamaican Food
1200 E. 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78702
Hours of Operation: 11:45 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Eat and Greet: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 10

Country's Boyz Fixins
4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, Texas 78721
Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Eat and Greet: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 11

Sam's BBQ
2000 E. 12th Street, Austin, Texas 78702
Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Eat and Greet: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

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