What Black Restaurant Week does

Black Restaurant Week is an experiential and creative marketing agency founded in 2015 and operating as a privately held LLC in the United States. The company curates city-specific, two-week promotional campaigns across 10+ U.S. regions — including Houston (in its 11th year), Atlanta (10th year), New York Tri-State (6th year), Los Angeles, Greater Washington DC & Baltimore, Southeast, Gulf Coast, and Florida — that spotlight Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, and catering businesses through curated directories, special menus, social media amplification, influencer partnerships, and earned-media outreach. It maintains a searchable National Directory of Black-owned culinary businesses, an editorial content hub called What's Cookin, and the Black Diamond Class legacy-restaurant series. The business is led by three Managing Partners: Warren Luckett (Founder), Falayn Ferrell (Operations), and Derek Robinson (Marketing).

The company monetizes through three primary revenue streams: (1) tiered annual business registration fees — a Free Digital tier, a Standard tier at $150/year, and a Premium tier at $350/year — for culinary businesses to participate in campaigns; (2) à la carte marketing services at $500+ per promotion covering flyer design, event calendar placement, boosted social media, and newsletter exposure; and (3) corporate sponsorships from national brands including Sysco, PepsiCo, Grubhub, Disney, NASCAR, and a cluster of spirits brands (Makers Mark, Bacardi, Jack Daniel's, Martell, Stella, Pronghorn). The technology stack is minimal — a WordPress website, Google Forms-based registration, and integrations with third-party delivery platforms (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub) — with no disclosed proprietary platform or AI/ML capabilities. The associated Feed the Soul Foundation nonprofit arm and upcoming Global Culinary Conference (February 2027) extend the brand into ecosystem-building activities beyond episodic campaigns.

Name

Black Restaurant Week

Legal name

Black Restaurant Week LLC

Website

https://blackrestaurantweeks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Black Restaurant Week is a privately held experiential marketing agency founded in 2015 that runs city-specific two-week campaigns across 10+ U.S. regions to promote Black-owned restaurants and culinary businesses, monetizing through tiered business registration fees ($0/$150/$350 annually), à la carte marketing services, and corporate sponsorships from brands like Sysco, PepsiCo, and Grubhub.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Marketing Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Festivals & Culinary Events (Ticketed Tastings, Pop-ups) (THAJAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food, Beverage & Hospitality Trade Shows Organizers (THAHABAI), Street Food Tours (THAJAGAC)

Keywords

• Culinary marketing campaigns
• Restaurant week promotions
• Experiential marketing services
• Food directory listings
• Cultural event marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Business Registration Fees: Tiered annual registration fees for culinary businesses to participate in Black Restaurant Week campaigns: Free Digital tier with basic listing, Standard tier at $150/year with enhanced features, and Premium tier at $350/year with maximum exposure and opportunities.
2. Additional Marketing Services: Per-promotion marketing services at $500+ rate including flyer design, event calendar listing, meal special promotion, boosted social media advertisements, and national newsletter exposure.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Partnership and sponsorship revenue from corporate brands seeking to reach the Black culinary community, including national partners such as Sysco, PepsiCo, NASCAR, Disney, Grubhub, and spirits brands.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Black Restaurant Week is an experiential and creative marketing agency that curates city-specific, two-week restaurant week campaigns across multiple U.S. regions to spotlight Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, and caterers. It generates revenue through tiered business registration packages (free, $150/year Standard, $350/year Premium), à la carte marketing services at $500+ per promotion, and corporate sponsorships from brands such as Sysco, PepsiCo, and Grubhub. The company also maintains a searchable national directory of Black-owned culinary businesses and an editorial content hub.

Product overview

Black Restaurant Week is an experiential and creative marketing agency that operates a multi-city campaign platform and national directory for Black-owned culinary businesses. The core product consists of two-week-long city-specific promotional campaigns (marketed under tiered Digital, Standard at $150/year, and Premium at $350/year registration packages) spanning nine regions including Houston (11th annual), Atlanta (10th annual), New York Tri-State (6th annual), Los Angeles, Washington DC & Baltimore, Southeast, Gulf Coast, and Florida. Supporting products include the National Directory of culinary businesses (organized by city and cuisine type), the What's Cookin editorial content hub featuring news and recipes, an Events Calendar with calendar subscription support, the Black Diamond Class legacy restaurant editorial series, the A la Karte e-commerce marketplace, and several sub-brands (Nosh Culinary Showcase, Power of the Palate Bartending Competition, SoundBites Food Truck). The platform also offers additional per-promotion marketing services at $500+, an Influencer Program, and Campaign Coordinator freelance opportunities, all connected through the Feed the Soul Foundation nonprofit arm.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Black Restaurant Week Campaigns City-specific two-week promotional campaigns spotlighting Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, and catering businesses through special menus, marketing collateral, and social media amplification.
• Atlanta Black Restaurant Week The 10th annual regional campaign covering the Greater Atlanta Metro area, featuring filtering by cuisine type, dining style, delivery services, and special menu offerings.
• New York Tri-State Black Restaurant Week 6th annual regional campaign covering New York City, New Jersey townships, and surrounding metro areas.
• Houston Black Restaurant Week 11th annual regional campaign covering Houston and surrounding metro areas including Sugar Land, Pearland, Bellaire, and Cypress.
• Greater Washington DC & Baltimore Black Restaurant Week Regional campaign covering Baltimore MD, Washington DC, surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties.
• Southeast Black Restaurant Week Regional campaign covering Little Rock AR, Memphis TN, Nashville TN, and Louisville KY.
• Los Angeles Black Restaurant Week Regional campaign covering Southern California.
• Gulf Coast Black Restaurant Week Regional campaign covering New Orleans LA, Jackson MS, and Birmingham AL.
• Florida Black Restaurant Week Regional campaign covering Tampa, Tallahassee, Miami, Orlando, and Jacksonville FL.
• National Directory A searchable national directory of Black-owned culinary businesses including restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, bars, and caterers, organized by city and cuisine type, allowing diners to discover participating businesses year-round.
• What's Cookin (Culinary News) Editorial content hub featuring the latest news, cultural insights, recipes, and stories from the Black culinary community.
• Additional Marketing Services Per-promotion marketing services at $500+ including flyer design, event calendar listing, meal special promotion, boosted social media ads, and national newsletter exposure for participating businesses.
• Sponsorship & Partnership Opportunities Partnership tiers covering market sponsorship, digital display advertising, custom digital content, event activation, and custom culinary activations across the BRW brand portfolio including Black Restaurant Weeks, Nosh Culinary Showcase, Power of the Palate Bartending Competition, SoundBites Food Truck, A la Karte, and Custom Culinary Activations.
• Black Diamond Class Editorial series honoring legacy Black-owned restaurants that have operated for 50+ years, profiling establishments such as Gates BBQ (70+ years), Dooky Chase (80 years), Harold & Belle's (50+ years), and Sylvia's Restaurant (50+ years).
• A la Karte E-commerce marketplace within the Black Restaurant Week portfolio for selling seasonings, sauces, cookbooks, and kitchen gadgets.
• Nosh Culinary Showcase Brand within the Black Restaurant Week portfolio offered as a sponsorship and partnership vehicle, showcasing culinary talent and experiences.
• Power of the Palate Bartending Competition Bartending competition brand within the Black Restaurant Week portfolio, offered as a sponsorship and partnership vehicle.
• SoundBites Food Truck Food truck brand within the Black Restaurant Week portfolio, offered as a sponsorship and partnership vehicle.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average 10 million impressions and 2 million reach per campaign across digital channels
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SyscocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational partner supporting Black Restaurant Week campaigns. Sysco provides food supply partnership and distribution support for participating culinary businesses. Also partnered through Sysco to Go for direct-to-consumer food distribution services.
• GrubhubcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational partner providing food delivery integration for Black Restaurant Week participant restaurants, enabling expanded delivery reach for participating Black-owned culinary businesses.
• PepsiCocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational beverage partner supporting Black Restaurant Week campaigns with beverage brand integration and marketing exposure across campaign events.
• NASCARminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntertainment and sports partner bringing NASCAR brand association and potential event activations to Black Restaurant Week campaigns.
• DisneyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntertainment partner providing brand association with Black Restaurant Week campaigns, reaching diverse consumer audiences.
• Makers MarkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpirits brand partner supporting Black Restaurant Week campaigns with cocktail programming and event activations at participating restaurants.
• BacardiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpirits brand partner providing cocktail program support and brand integration at Black Restaurant Week events and restaurant partnerships.
• Jack Daniel'sminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpirits brand partner supporting Black Restaurant Week campaigns with cocktail programming and event activations.
• MartellminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCognac brand partner providing cocktail program support and marketing integration at Black Restaurant Week events.
• StellaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand supporting Black Restaurant Week campaigns with marketing and promotional integration.
• PronghornminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner brand providing marketing support and promotional integration with Black Restaurant Week campaigns.
• Feed the Soul FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated nonprofit foundation supporting the Black Restaurant Week ecosystem. Founder Warren Luckett and team are associated with both organizations, representing a commitment to economic empowerment and culinary community development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LocalEats: Online directory of locally owned, independent restaurants across U.S. cities; comparable to BRW's National Directory in curating independent/SMB restaurants and offering discovery by city and cuisine.
• Eater (Vox Media): National food-media brand running city-specific editorial sites, dining guides, and events — comparable to BRW in multi-city culinary storytelling, directory-style coverage, and event-driven audience monetization.
• James Beard Foundation: Mission-driven culinary organization that runs awards, events, and programs spotlighting restaurants and chefs; comparable to BRW as a cultural-marketing platform for the dining industry that monetizes via events and sponsorships.
• Taste of the Nation (No Kid Hungry): Multi-city culinary tasting events operated by a nonprofit that monetizes via sponsorships and ticket sales; comparable to BRW in city-activation format, restaurant curation, and corporate-sponsor-driven economics.
• Soulfoodia: Black-owned restaurant directory and discovery platform; comparable to BRW in mission-driven curation of Black-owned culinary businesses and city-by-city SMB restaurant listings.
• The Infatuation: Restaurant discovery and dining guide platform with curated city coverage and experiential content; overlaps with BRW's directory, city campaigns, and influencer-driven food discovery model.

Others

• Visit Houston / Local CVBs (Convention & Visitor Bureaus): Local tourism boards that curate restaurant weeks and culinary events as part of city marketing — comparable to BRW in event-driven culinary marketing model and stakeholder mix (restaurants, sponsors, media).

Broad incumbents

• OpenTable: Restaurant reservation and marketing platform serving SMBs and diners nationwide; comparable to BRW in connecting diners to restaurants and offering restaurants promotional tools, but via a reservation-led tech product.
• Yelp: Largest U.S. restaurant discovery and review platform with a national directory; comparable to BRW's national directory and SMB restaurant marketing value proposition, but at vastly broader scale.
• Resy: Restaurant reservation and discovery platform (American Express) with curated dining lists and marketing programs for restaurants; comparable as a restaurant-marketing and discovery channel, with overlap in influencer/editorial-driven content.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/BlackRestaurantWeekLLC
• Facebookfacebook.com/blackrestaurantweek
• Instagraminstagram.com/blackrestaurantweek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackrestaurantweek

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Restaurant Week