GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — (GRBJ) - There’s no need to wait until Black History Month or the next Juneteenth to support the many tasty food traditions and cultures at each Black-owned food or beverage establishment in the city.
Angela Nelson, VP of multicultural business development at Experience Grand Rapids, recently posted a list of 19 Great Black-owned Restaurants in Grand Rapids that can serve as a starting point if you’re looking to explore what’s in your neighborhood and beyond.
Most are unique to Grand Rapids, while a few are franchises. Some offer dine-in while others are takeout-only.
We recommend patrons contact the restaurants before visiting to make sure they have reopened following the new COVID-19 restrictions.
We have also included additional suggestions from a list of Black-owned businesses at Support616.
Happy eating and drinking!
Nelson’s list
Her suggestions include Southern comfort, soul food, late-night bites and all-day breakfasts, Caribbean and African eateries, cafés and coffeehouses, and retail shops:
Back Door BBQ, 333 Hall St. SE
The Bitter End Coffehouse, 752 W. Fulton St.
Boston Square Café, 1553 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
The Candied Yam, 2305 44th St. SE
Chez Olga, 1441 Wealthy St. SE
Chicken Coop, 1156 S. Division Ave.
Cindy’s Chicken Coop, 1936 Eastern Ave. SE
Creston Brewery, 1504 Plainfield Ave. NE
Daddy Pete’s BBQ, 2921 Eastern Ave. SE
Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, 1059 Wealthy St. SE
GoJo Ethiopian Cuisine & Deli, 421 Norwood Ave. SE
Gursha Ethiopian Restaurant, 4301 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Hall of Fame Burgers, 655 Eastern Ave. SE
IHOP, 3697 Alpine Ave. NW
Irie Kitchen, 6630 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Jamaican Dave’s, 530 S. Division Ave.
Kona Ice of West Michigan — mobile food truck for hire
Little Africa, 956 E. Fulton St.
Load a Spud, 1721 Madison Ave. SE
Local Mocha Coffee, 96 Monroe Center NW, Suite 100
LT’s BBQ, 1636 Eastern Ave. SE
Malamiah Juice Bar, 122 Oakes St. SW, Suite 110
Mosby’s Popcorn, 15 Ionia Ave. SW
Southern Fish Fry, 1117 Wealthy St. SE
Wing Heaven, 1500 44th St.
Support 616 list:
Flourhouse Cakes, custom orders, flourhousecakes.com
Graped Out, grapedout.com
The Honeybird, 1269 Madison Ave. SE
KD’s Sports Bar, 945 36th St. SW
Luxe Artisan Preserves, luxepreserves.com
Mike’s Wings, 1808 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 2
Raise a Glass Wine Tours, raiseaglasstours.com
Robinson’s Popcorn, 1034 28th St. SW, Wyoming
Wing Kingz, 1604 Diamond Ave. NE
Additional information about many of the above businesses can be found in the Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses GRABB Local Directory.
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