DURHAM, N.C. — Old East Durham is home to several Black-owned businesses.

But there’s a new block fostering Black entrepreneurship just minutes away from West Parrish Street and what was known as Black Wall Street.

What You Need To Know

  • East Durham was known for its Black Wall Street

  • East Durham is the largest, most densely populated of the city's neighborhoods

  • Mike D's BBQ has an award-winning line of signature barbecue sauces and dry rubs

Preparation starts early at Mike D’s BBQ as owner Michael De Los Santos gets ready for a day of barbecue and hungry customers.

“A lot of restaurants have shifted to gas smokers that are inside because they’re a little more efficient. But there is nothing like barbecue cooked over wooden coals,” De Los Santos said.

Mike D’s BBQ restaurant stands on South Driver Street and has been there since July, but the business started in December 2013 with De Los Santos selling barbecue sauce and rubs.

As more Black entrepreneurs come to the area, De Los Santos says he loves being part of the revitalization.

“The more Black businesses, the more businesses coming to East Durham, the more money being circulated in the community,” he said.

Coming from Richmond, Virginia, the barbecue fanatic says he always had a love for food.

He says after blogging about other people’s barbecue recipes and the death of his 6-month-old son, he decided he needed a change in his life.

De Los Santos says it was time to stop making excuses and wanted to find a way to honor his son’s legacy.  

So he got the smoker smoking.

“About a year later, I launched Mike D’s sauces and rubs, and we grew from there,” De Los Santos said.

It went from food truck and supply store to Mike D’s BBQ restaurant.

De Los Santos says East Durham is the best place for his business.

He says didn’t want to set up shop in downtown Durham, because it's saturated and expensive. Although it has a rich history of Black business, he said, he wanted to be a part of revitalizing an area instead.

“People were saying, why would you open a shop there? That street is abandoned, all the businesses are closed,” he said.

But he kept his faith.

“And things started to grow from there,” De Los Santos said.

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Now, new businesses are starting to follow De Los Santos' lead, opening shop on Driver Street.

“This has historically been a Black community. Want to have Black businesses here and us not get pushed out as gentrification comes in,” he said.

With help from community leaders and landlords, he says he and others will thrive.

“Having property owners and owners who are supportive of that mission is really helpful,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos says that he considered other Black-owned business hubs in North Carolina like Uptown Charlotte but that Durham is home.

East Durham is full of great people, culture and community, he says.