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Here are 9 Black-owned businesses to shop during Black Business Month

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Here are 9 Black-owned businesses to shop during Black Business Month

August marks Black Business Month, a time to celebrate the amazing Black-owned businesses in Greater Boston. Black Business Month was founded in 2004 by engineering entrepreneur Frederick E. Jordan and John William Templeton, president and executive director of eAccess Corp. — a scholarly publishing company. The duo urges “local government officials, community leaders and venture capitalists to focus efforts on creating a more hospitable environment in which Black-owned businesses can grow,” according to Black Enterprise. During this month and beyond, visit and support your favorite Black-owned businesses. Here are nine recommendations to get you started.

Also, check out Black-Owned Bos., a business services and consulting agency working to “highlight and lift Black-owned businesses, places, spaces and the people moving the culture forward.” Its directory features many more Black-owned small businesses, from jewelry and clothing to accounting and tax services, in the Greater Boston area.

702 Washington St., Norwood

Emerald City Plant Shop is a plant nursery in Norwood bringing together lush foliage and abundant community. It’s also the first Black-owned plant shop in New England. “Our mission is to create a vibrant and inclusive space that goes beyond being just a plant shop,” the company states on their website. “We are a community hub where plant enthusiasts, artists and creatives come to learn, grow and connect through workshops, collaborative projects and shared experiences.” WBUR’s Arielle Gray reported on the shop in 2021 when founder Quontay Turner opened Emerald City Plant Shop during the pandemic. Turner’s appreciation for plants sparked when her grandmother gifted her clippings from her spider and pathos plants, Gray writes. The store’s inventory ranges from tropical plants to greenery requiring minimal care for all types of plant owners. Turner also wanted the shop to be a community gathering space for people of color, so in addition to hosting events, the shop can be booked for private events of up to 45 people. Turner stopped by WBUR’s The Common last year to share plant care tips and more. Listen to that episode here.

57 Warren St., Roxbury

If you’re an avid reader who appreciates local bookstores, check out Frugal Bookstore in Roxbury – the first Black-owned bookstore in the city. Leonard and Clarrissa Egerton own the shop, which began as a corner in Frugal Furniture in Roxbury. Leonard told WBUR’s Gray that owner Bob Romanow hired him to assist with the small section of books by majority Black authors. That corner became Multicultural Book World, a business aimed at selling books by diverse authors to nearby schools. Then, Frugal Bookstore began in 2008, and Leonard Egerton bought it. The shop states that their mission is to promote literacy among all ages. Frugal Bookstore highlights books by authors of color with young readers, chapter books, children’s cultural story books, fiction, biographies and memoirs, non-fiction, poetry, and business and leadership collections. They also host in-person author events.

1212 Broadway, Somerville

Couple Fatuma and Francois Tuyishime own Yego Coffee in Somerville. Yego means “yes” in Kinyarwanda, the native language in Rwanda. Francois notes on their website that the word “is a symbol of positivity and affirmation. The positivity that allowed us to overcome the darkness we passed through in 1994 during the genocide against the Tutsi.” Francois’ father worked in coffee farms and inspired him to develop the business. The cafe imports coffee beans from his family farm in Rwanda. Starting the business in 2023 wasn’t just about brewing good coffee; it was also about building community with customers. Yego offers classic coffee options, a selection of teas, hot chocolate, masala chai lattes, matcha lattes and pastries. The business was also recently featured in The Boston Globe’s Best of the Best coffee shops for 2024.

1755 Centre St., West Roxbury

Carlene O’Garro started Delectable Desires as a cake business out of her home. It has since expanded into a wholesale business, stocking cafes around Boston and 40 Whole Foods locations throughout New England. She started baking at 4 years old with her mother on Sundays and fell in love with it. O’Garro was accepted to Suffolk University Law School in 2005 but altered her plans and attended Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 2006. Delectable Desires was born the following year.

114 South St., Jamaica Plain

Do you have a little one and want to introduce them to culturally diverse cuisine at a young age? Tracy Skelly established The Tot Cafe in Jamaica Plain to do just that. She had her first child in 2018 and couldn’t find baby food with flavors from the African diaspora like papaya and collards. She developed her own nutrient rich baby foods and opened The Tot Cafe so other parents could expose their children to these flavors. Her creations also pack in hidden vegetables for a balanced meal. The cafe’s menu includes selections like a mini Southern cornbread loaf for breakfast, cauliflower crust pizza with tomato and broccoli sauce for lunch and unicorn yogurt (greek yogurt, dragonfruit with fruit puree, sprinkles) as a snack. The Tot Cafe offers a selection of fruit and vegetable smoothies, coffee and tea under the section “Grown-Up Drinks.” Their menu changes seasonally to integrate fresh produce into their meals. Along with food, the cafe is also a space for learning and playing with books, games and toys in a sweet play space with artfully whimsical animal heads framed on the wall.

60 Seaport Blvd., Boston

Grace by Nia’s tagline is “where soul meets the Seaport.” Roxbury native Nia Grace started the supper club with an upscale, modern twist in May 2023 and owns two other establishments, Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen and The Underground Cafe. The menu boasts delectable spins on classic Southern cuisine like bourbon peach spare ribs, carrot cake chicken and waffles and cajun jambalaya. The restaurant hosts an artist showcase called “Let It Flow” every Wednesday where singers, poets, writers and musicians share their work — the restaurant’s house band The Mastadonis Project is available to accompany artists. Live jazz, soul and R&B performances also take place on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night and Saturday afternoon during brunch. WBUR’s Darryl C. Murphy and Frannie Monahan visited the restaurant on an episode of The Common and spoke with Grace about the energy and impact the restaurant had on the community a month after its opening.

192 Oxford St., Lynn and 210 Pleasant St., Malden

Soul City Yoga began in 2016 to fill a gap in diversity in the boutique fitness space. They offer memberships and in-studio drop-ins for all skill levels at their Lynn and Malden locations. Soul City Yoga also prices their classes on a sliding scale to give people at different economic levels the chance to experience the same classes. They provide a standard rate ($24 per class), sustainer rate ($20 per class) and community rate ($16 per class). Along with yoga, they also host indoor rowing classes for a low impact cardio workout. Their website notes that, as of 2020, only 13.75% of rowers were people of color, so they are partnering with the North Shore Maritime Center to increase those numbers.

166 Main St., Essex

We Dream in Colour sells bold, yet delicate jewelry and hairpins with natural, vintage and celestial inspiration at a shop in Essex. Jade Gedeon started her jewelry line in 2002, and her sister Mika joined her in 2011. The pieces are handmade by an all-women team at their studio in Salem. Jade’s designs draw from her time living in the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago, the U.K., Denmark and Australia. The brand’s website notes that they utilize “repurposed materials and earth-friendly processes” in the production process. We Dream in Colour’s Bambou earrings were also worn by actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish in a Cosmopolitan magazine photoshoot.

140 Wood Rd., Braintree

If you love a clean-burning candle, head over to Lumière René Candle Company in Braintree. They offer handmade candles created with coconut soy wax and phthalate-free fragrance and essential oils. CEO Katelynne Bazile started the company in honor of her grandfather. “His unwavering optimism and the warmth of his spirit left a lasting impression on me,” she writes on the company website. “He taught me that even in the darkest of times, a single candle could illuminate a room, dispelling the shadows of uncertainty. This lesson became the foundation upon which Lumière René was built.” Each candle is accompanied by a special music playlist that compliments the aroma, like Garden Kisses — a scent with neroli and chrysanthemum notes. Candles are $32.

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