RALEIGH, N.C. — Black Restaurant Week 2022 is in full swing.
It’s a time to highlight and celebrate African American, African and Caribbean cuisines as well as celebrate Black-owned culinary establishments.
Fruits and veggies are the bedrock of Tahesha Evans’s business, Kwench Juice Cafe in Raleigh.
She became the owner almost three years ago. Evans previously worked in HR and says she knew she needed a change.
- Black Restaurant Week is a nationwide initiative
- The event ends on Sunday, May 1
- This is the 2nd annual event
“Just running my kids around every day from school to practice and there was really no healthy options,” Evans said of her decision to make the career move. “The only thing was fast food.”
Evans calls herself a big dreamer and says her close-knit community helped her make the big career change.
“It’s important for us to support each other as well, to reach each other and kind of see that it is possible, that it’s not easy but sticking with it, it’s work. It’s worth it,” Evans said.
Her cafe is part of Black Restaurant Week where Evans loves spreading the gospel of good health.
“A lot of people feel like juicing and eating healthy is nasty, so I just really want the community to know, it doesn’t have to, you know, it can be fun,” said Evans.
The U.S. Census Bureau shows just over one million businesses in the U.S. are minority owned, that’s 18% of all employer businesses.
Evans says it’s important to show not only her kids, but the public at large that Black-owned businesses are a vital part of the economy.
“People come to us specifically because we are a Black-owned business, so again, that community support, trying to make it relevant, being intentional about dollar spending and where you are spending it,” Evans said.
