KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dozens of Black-owned businesses in the Kansas City area are participating in Midwest Black Restaurant Week.

Organized by Black Restaurant Week LLC, the 10-day event kicks off Friday and continues through Sept. 11 in several major cities across the region.

Kansas City favorites like Gates Bar-B-Q, KC Daiquiri Shop, Blue Nile Cafe, Ruby Jean’s Juicery and more are participating. You can find a full list of over 50 participating Kansas City area restaurants here.

Black Restaurant Week was developed to shine a light on minority-owned businesses and celebrate the flavors of African American, African and Caribbean cuisine.

One of the participants, Fannie Gibson, owns Fannie’s West African Cuisine. She said recommends people try the fufu, an African sticky dough usually served with soup.

“Everyone is talking about the fufu. You gotta try the fufu and all of the soups are good. We have egusi soup, paired with the fufu, Okra, and all kinds of soup. The jollof too. if you do not like the fufu, if you’re not into that the jollof is very popular and it’s a West African meat dish.”  

The organization said last year across the U.S. the restaurant week generated an average 15% sales increase. Local restaurants are certainly hoping to see more business and awareness.

The theme this year is “More Than Just a Week” as Black Restaurant Week organizers said hundreds of thousands of restaurants and bars are facing uncertain futures due to lost revenue and increased debt over the past two years.