The National Black Restaurant Weeks campaign is returning to Chicago with two full weeks of specials and events at 35 Black-owned eateries from Sunday, Sept. 10, to Sunday, Sept. 24.

“Essentially we are a brand awareness platform for Black-owned culinary businesses across the nation,” said Falayn Farrell, managing partner of Black Restaurant Weeks. “It celebrates African American and Caribbean restaurants, and we do have all types included, everything from 14 Parish, which is like a great Caribbean Rum bar, we also have an Ethiopian restaurant participating this year, Frontier is doing some things. We’re actually hosting a happy hour at Ina Mae’s Tavern on Tuesday. That’s the beauty of the campaign — whatever your taste buds are, you can find a restaurant that’s participating.”

Farrell said with the restaurant industry still recovering from the pandemic, it’s a delicious opportunity for everyone to discover new flavors while supporting small businesses.

“This campaign is only as strong as the community support,” Farrell said. “When you really think about what local businesses bring to the community, they hire first within the community. Usually when something goes down, they’re the first to give back through donating food, helping first responders. So this is really our time of the year to give back to them just to let them know that we support them.”