The Madison Black Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for the 10th annual Madison Black Restaurant Week, set for August 10 through 17. The Chamber is currently inviting Black-owned food businesses—from restaurants and food trucks to caterers and purveyors—to sign up and take part in the milestone celebration.
“This is Madison Black Restaurant Week. We actually were one of the first to start Black Restaurant Week 10 years ago,” said Camille Carter, President and CEO of the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce. “When we started the campaign, we only had about 12 restaurants.”
That number has grown steadily. “Last year we had expanded the businesses to about 42,” Carter said. “We expanded the campaign to include food trucks and caterers, and now we include all of the food service entrepreneurial community. So we’ve got farmers, we have purveyors… dessert specialists and chefs, personal chefs as well.”
Carter said the event is not just about food—it’s about visibility and sustainability. “This is a promotional campaign intended to shine a spotlight on restaurants within the Madison and Dane County region,” she said. “Oftentimes they’re solopreneurs or small family businesses that don’t have a large marketing budget.”
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Participation is open to licensed businesses. “We do require that our businesses are properly licensed, of course, with the state of Wisconsin, and we help to support them and provide technical assistance to kind of get them there if they’re not there,” Carter said. “There is a registration process. It’s very reasonable. And we do have member pricing and non-member pricing.”
This year’s Black Restaurant Week will feature a lineup of community events including the Food Taste Jamboree on August 10 at Warner Park, an heirloom collard green tasting and cooking demo at the Black Business Hub, and a Farm to Table Community Brunch to close the week. “We really do try and have fun throughout the week,” Carter said. “We know that we have fans actually, that come in particularly for the jamboree and for the Black Restaurant Week experience from Iowa, Illinois, Milwaukee.”
Businesses interested in participating can register through the Chamber. “It’s an investment that pays off. We do market our Black Restaurant Week participants all year long,” Carter said.
The Chamber will also host public voting during the week for favorite restaurant, food truck, dessert, and more, with winners announced at the Amateur Dessert Mixer on September 18.
“Stay hungry that week,” Carter said.
