RICHMOND, Va. -- The fourth annual Richmond Black Restaurant Experience kicked off at the Mobile Soul Sunday event.
Makayla Skye Eugene, who experienced the event for the first time, said the food was spectacular.
"You should really come support it," Eugene said. "It's amazing -- its taste and homelike."
Some of the best black-owned restaurants rolled in Kanawha Plaza in hopes of better connecting with the community.
"This is the week you get to interact with me, live in person," The Drop Off Chef Tierra Smith said.
Learn more about the Richmond Black Restaurant Experience. Listen to the "Eat It, Virginia!" podcast.
For four years the Richmond Black Restaurant Experience has brought locals together to try new and exciting dishes.
Tricia Vanrossum, who has supported the event all four years, continues to discover new places to explore.
"It allows me to see different restaurants that are in the Richmond area that are black owned," Vanrossum said. "Some of the restaurants I was familiar with, and some I was not, and it allows me to try them out."
Thirty-five restaurants are participating this year.
Soul Shaker, Soul Ice and RVA Street Foodies owner and creator Dr. Malcolm Andress III said organizers have been working to not only bring healthy and delicious alternatives to their customers, but to provided a new way earning a living.
"I don’t want you to just buy from me, I want you to become a part of the family," Andress said, "So when you come to RVA Street Foodies, ask me about the business opportunities so that you can become a co-op owner and see yourself behind one of these carts."
Participants, organizers and guests said Richmond Black Restaurant Experience provides so much more than food, but a direct way to connect.
"To me it's very important, because it's our week to represent to show our talent, our magic," Smith said. "The most important thing is to be apart of it. When you’re not apart of it , then people don’t know who you are, and that makes you kind of fall short of the whole atmosphere of the experience. So Black Restaurant Experience is the most important week for any black-owned business in my eyes."
