KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While the pandemic hit all restaurants hard, nationally, Black-owned restaurants were more than twice as likely to close as white-owned restaurants.
But KC Restaurant Week, as well as last summer's Black Restaurant Week, have been a saving grace for Kansas City eateries like Fannie's West African Cuisine.
At the restaurant on Troost Avenue, owner Fannie Gibson serves up a taste of West Africa, including dishes from her native Liberia.
"I just wanted to bring my culture to Kansas City. We didn't have that here for the very longest time," Gibson said. "It feels so good that people can actually come here and try fufu for the first time and loving actually eating with their hands. And it's people from all walks of life."
The support from the community has grown since she opened her restaurant in 2018, especially since last year, when Fannie's first participated in KC Restaurant Week.
"That was the highlight of my career, my life. It changed everything," she said.
A few months later, Gibson got the invitation to participate in Black Restaurant Week, a national effort to highlight and support Black-owned restaurants.
"We wanted to create a platform that was all inclusive for them, for the food trucks, for the bakeries, because also they don't have the funds to create their own marketing campaign," Falayn Ferrell, managing partner of Black Restaurant Week, said.
Ferrell helped start Black Restaurant Week in Houston in 2016. She said she noticed a lot of Black-owned restaurants were left out of traditional restaurant weeks because they didn't have a traditional restaurant structure.
"Most restaurants in the Black community are your fast-casual counter serve, they really are not doing the three-course, waitstaff business model," Ferrell said.
The event has now expanded to regions all across North America. One of the goals is to highlight the diversity of cuisines within Black-owned food joints.
"Kansas City, you would first think barbecue, but we have a vegan restaurant, we have a yogurt shop. Like, there's all different types of businesses and within these different communities," Ferrell said.
At Mesob Restaurant and Rhum Bar on Broadway Boulevard, owner Cherven Desauguste is giving Kansas City an authentic taste of both Ethiopia and the Caribbean.
He said participating in Black Restaurant Week last summer likely saved his restaurant.
"Without Black Restaurant Week in July, [it] wouldn't be possible. Because a lot of Black-owned restaurants, they were struggling. And I didn't see the reason why, even for us to stay open for another six, seven months, because we weren't making any means," Desauguste said.
Mesob rebounded so well, Desauguste was able to open a second restaurant right next door. Taste Island Grill is a more fast-casual experience, dishing up quick bites with a Caribbean flair.
"[There's] something for everyone," Desauguste said. "So it doesn't matter if you're vegetarian, if you're vegan, you always have something to eat."
Both restaurant owners are hoping to keep the momentum going with KC Restaurant Week this week and Black Restaurant Week coming up in the fall.
"Without the community in the city, none of us will survive," Desauguste said.
"I really think Restaurant Week, to me, it's like a celebration like 'we see you, we thank you... keep doing what you're doing, we're here to celebrate and to support you.' So I'm grateful for it or every year," Gibson added.
This year's Midwest Black Restaurant Week will take place from Sept. 2-11.
The Black Restaurant Week organization is also accepting applications for its business grant. The deadline is Jan. 31. More details about who is eligible and how to apply can be found on the their website.
Dining hours and menus for all of the restaurants participating in KC Restaurant Week, including Fannie's, Mesob and Taste, can be found on here.
