Here’s how two apps connect Black-owned restaurants with new customers

When Anthony Edwards Jr. and his then-girlfriend, Janique, first moved to Brooklyn in 2016, they struggled to find food that was comfortable and familiar to them.

They explored their neighborhood, Edwards said, but had a hard time finding Black-owned restaurants nearby. There were few resources for doing so besides group chats and informal lists. So, with the encouragement of Janique, now his wife, he used his computer science degree to create a platform for users to find Black-owned eateries.

The two co-founded EatOkra, an app that now has 20,000 monthly active users and brought in about $700,000 in revenue in 2024.

“As we put it out there into the world, we saw people immediately gravitate and tell us frankly, ‘I’ve been looking for an app like this,’ and we still hear this to this day,” Edwards, EatOkra’s CEO and CTO, told CNBC.

They weren’t the only ones. In 2020, Brax Rich was seeking a way to support Black-owned restaurants amid the Covid pandemic. He launched Black Foodie Finder, originally as a social media space to highlight eateries. Now, Black Foodie Finder has 1.3 million Instagram followers and spotlights restaurants, chefs and recipes in its app.

“I think our impact has been really big,” Rich, CEO of Black Foodie Finder, told CNBC. “We would highlight a restaurant, and the next thing I know, the owner’s posting on social media, ‘Hey, where did all you new guys come from?'”

Here’s a look at how these platforms are showcasing Black-owned businesses and Black food professionals:

EatOkra users can search for Black-owned restaurants, caterers and food trucks based on keywords or proximity. About 20,000 businesses across the U.S. are available to browse in its database, including their locations, user reviews, contact information and online ordering options. EatOkra, named after the plant used in African diasporic dishes, also lists Black-owned food products in its marketplace.

The platform offers two tiers for businesses seeking to join the database: a free Lite option and a paid Plus subscription that offers additional features, online business courses and more space on the app for $9.99 a month. Edwards said the Plus membership serves as EatOkra’s primary business model.

EatOkra’s current partners include catering company ezCater and Pepsi Dig In, PepsiCo’s initiative to promote Black-owned businesses. It also collaborates with Apple Maps to help produce local guides to Black-owned eateries.

The company provides resources on topics such as marketing, supply chain and restaurant growth, said Jason Wallace, EatOkra’s director of business solutions and a food service educator.

“It’s been exactly what the independent…