North Texas Black Restaurant Week comes back next week for another serving

North Texas Black Restaurant Week is back for another taste.

It kicks off on June 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with an event at Southwest Center Mall (3662 W. Camp Wisdom Road, Dallas) and continues from June 19-25 at participating restaurants.

The promotion is timed to coincide with Juneteenth, the annual celebration of the end of slavery after the Emancipation Proclamation made its way to Texas on June 19, 1865, more than two years after it was signed into law.

Founder DeNita Lacking-Quinn started North Texas Black Restaurant Week in 2016 to assist black-owned businesses.

"I saw that there was a need. Black restaurant owners needed help with promoting their business and marketing their business and then they needed help with identifying their customers," she said.

"I'm a foodie. This is right up my alley."

The Dallas Black Chamber, the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber and the Arlington Black Chamber were all soon on board.

In its first year, the kickoff was held during the Fair Park 80th Anniversary celebration. More than 30 restaurants, caterers, food trucks and scratch kitchens participated in the inaugural kickoff.

"We'll have about 50 more restaurants participating this year," said Lacking-Quinn, who owns and runs Achieve PR, co-founded DFW Black Bloggers and is the founder and executive director of women's leadership network, The Golden Circle.

Krave and 2 Neighbors Southern Food Café, both in Cedar Hill, are two restaurants that will be new to the event. The Kessler Baking Studio, Roots on Tap, Smokey John's Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking and Soul Good are a few of the returning restaurants.

When Lacking-Quinn conceived of the idea, she expanded its reach to include more than brick-and-mortar restaurants. She wanted the event to also serve as sort of a small-business incubator.

"A lot of the chefs and scratch kitchens don't get enough exposure, either," she said. "That's how restaurant owners start. We want them to grow their business and for people to know who they are and where they're located."

Participating restaurants will have specials tied to North Texas Black Restaurant Week. The kickoff is important, Lacking-Quinn says, since it's about learning about the businesses and the owners behind the food.

Even after North Texas Black Restaurant Week is over, she says, "We still want people to go visit the restaurants."

Corrected at 9:35 a.m. June 14, 2017: A previous version of this story had the incorrect start time for the North Texas Black Restaurant event at Southwest Center Mall.

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