OPOTX

You might think it’d be tough finding traditional African ingredients in the cream-and-butter capital of the world, but Niang has no trouble. “It’s not cheap,” she says, but it’s doable, and she’s managed to offer up some special treats, like exotic sodas flavored with baobab and hibiscus. Serving African food in the French capital can be a bit tricky, though, since you have to tone down the spice to appeal to Parisian palates, but her Senegalese clients will miss the heat if it isn’t there, so she deftly negotiates by providing tiny pots of spicy sauce that can be used to punch up the flavors if need be. And that’s a huge part of her business: More than 75 percent of France’s immigrants from developing countries are coming from Africa according to an OECD report, and while North Africa accounted for the most emigrants — 2.3 million of France’s residents came from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco alone — Senegal, Mali and the Ivory Coast each have yielded tens of thousands of newcomers.

—–Fiona Dublin (writer)

Daily Dose

Our name, Neo, means “gift” in Tswana and this encapsulates our view of coffee as a resource that should be shared and cherished. Our fine coffee is grown in Africa, to be consumed by the African consumer.

We aspire to be the brand across Africa that provides a ‘third space’, where customers can escape, meet like-minded dreamers and create great things. Neo is thus less about a cafe chain, but more about building communities around powerful ideas, with strong links to entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.

We are Cafe Neo; celebrating the return of coffee to its African roots, one cup at a time.

More than 100 local residents recently gathered together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Naka’s Broiler, a Black-owned restaurant which also happens to be the first ever Black-owned business in Compton, California.

Local residents say that Banks has always been an excellent example for others as a Black entrepreneur and community leader. The celebration of the 60th anniversary of Naka’s Broiler included both teachers and students so that the students could learn about the history of the restaurant and it’s importance to the community.

The restaurant is still going strong, having been recently purchased by another local Black entrepreneur, David Fisher. Fisher says that she taught him well about the business, and that he feels like her adopted son.

Against incredible odds, Karim Webb and Edward Barnett own three Buffalo Wild Wings franchise locations and are preparing to soon open a fourth. The incredible odds include starting a business in a working- and lower-class part of the Los Angeles area that struggles with gang crime.

If you own one or two franchises, you’re doing pretty good. But when you own 5, you are on your way to building an empire. And that’s exactly what entrepreneur Leo Thomas is doing!  He opened his very first Marco’s Pizza franchise in 2014, which makes fresh, authentic, handmade Italian pizza, and now he owns five Marco’s Pizza locations in Riverside County, California. What’s more is that Thomas has a development agreement to open 25 more stores in both Riverside and Orange County by 2024.

CamiCakes: People love warm cupcakes when the weather gets cold, and this Black-owned bakery chain sells yummy gourmet cupcakes that everyone seems to love. Although based in the Atlanta area with 7 different locations, they ship nationwide. People seem to especially love their cupcakes with smooth buttercream and cream cheese frosting.

The number of Black-owned juice bars seem to be increasing! Initially, though, opening a juice bar was the farthest thing on Kenny Minor’s mind. However, when his uncle died from a sudden heart attack, it motivated him to start being more healthy and to encourage others to do the same. So, he decided to open up his own spot called Xtract Juice Bar in Baltimore, Maryland.

We strive for excellence in our brand from our distillation process to the filtration of our product. We are determined on developing a brand that will be sustainable and live on from generation to generation. This excellence is a continuous practice of quality that can be found not only in our brand, but in our vodka

La Gastronomie Pizza is Madagascar’s first ever pizza joint. Now it is also the country’s largest fast food outlet. Owner Chef Mbinina worked hard to build his brand in a country where there are no fast food brands.

Mbina began his interest in food while still in high school. He worked as a dishwasher on weekends and learned how to cook by watching the food channel. He soon realized that pizza was an easy food to make.

His family helped out when he first started. In the beginning, he only had 5 different pizzas on the menu. Now his menu includes 10 different pizzas, plus ice cream. He has expanded his business to 27 outlets, and 700 employees across Madagascar. On weekends, his restaurants can serve up to 50,000 customers.

The menu at La Gastronomie Pizza has also expanded to include hamburgers, french fries, and chicken kebab sandwiches. A Turkish chef came to the restaurant from Turkey to train employees on how to make the kebab sandwiches.

Now, La Gastronomie is the most recognized brand of pizza in Madagascar. Although there is some competition now, they still have the strongest brand. Mbina says his ultimate goal is to expand across Africa.

CamiCakes: People love warm cupcakes when the weather gets cold, and this Black-owned bakery chain sells yummy gourmet cupcakes that everyone seems to love. Although based in the Atlanta area with 7 different locations, they ship nationwide. People seem to especially love their cupcakes with smooth buttercream and cream cheese frosting.

 CamiCakes: People love warm cupcakes when the weather gets cold, and this Black-owned bakery chain sells yummy gourmet cupcakes that everyone seems to love. Although based in the Atlanta area with 7 different locations, they ship nationwide. People seem to especially love their cupcakes with smooth buttercream and cream cheese frosting.