Black Restaurant Week aims to support black-owned businesses, twice as hard-hit by the pandemic

A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 41% of Black-owned businesses have been shuttered by COVID nationwide, compared to 17% of white-owned businesses.

But for the next week, everyone can come together to uplift Black-owned restaurants.

There’s a renewed sense of support for Black-owned businesses as the community works to advance racial equality and minimize the impact of the pandemic. People are stepping up in a big way to help keep the doors open.

"We hope Black Restaurant Week can be that revenue boost," said Warren Luckett, founder of Black Restaurant Week. "It's a marketing campaign that allows us to highlight businesses that you may not know right there in your own backyard."

The event starts Friday, April 23, and aims to put locally-beloved places like the Chicken Hut in a better position to thrive.

Long time Durham residents have seen the ‘Chicken Hut sign on Fayetteville Street for decades. It’s not just a restaurant. It’s a family legacy.

"The chicken is fabulous. There’s no words to describe it," said Owner Tre’ Tapp.

“The Chicken Hut was started in 1957," said Tapp.

A picture of the first Chicken Hut hangs on the wall. It sat on the corner of South Roxboro and Pine Street.

Tapp, his cousins and aunts are keeping his parents’ dream alive.

“During the time of Black Wall Street in Durham, they built Highway 147, and a lot of the black businesses were lost," he said.

The business relocated to Fayetteville Street, and had to be built from the ground up once again in the 1960s.

The family kept it going even during the trying times of a global pandemic.

"My mom used to always say roll with the punches. And I always remember that every day, no matter what life throws at you, you have to keep going," Tapp said.

Luckett hopes Black Restaurant Week will drive awareness, traffic and revenue to establishments like Chicken Hut.

"We’ve been in business over 68 years. So I hope to be going another 68 years," said Tapp.