Black People Eats raises money for Black-owned restaurants

Jeremy Joyce, of Black People Eats, launched the Black-Owned Restaurant Relief Fund to assist Black-Owned restaurants during COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Joyce/Black People Eats
Jeremy Joyce, of Black People Eats, launched the Black-Owned Restaurant Relief Fund to assist Black-Owned restaurants during COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Joyce/Black People Eats

Black People Eats raises money for Black-owned restaurants

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Jeremy Joyce began Black People Eats in 2017 with the goal of highlighting and connecting people to Black restaurants —not just in the city of Chicago—but across the country.

In early June, he decided to create the Black-Owned Restaurant Relief Fund, raising more than $50,000 just two days after he initially started the fundraiser. So far, more than $69,000 has been raised for the cause.

Joyce said he was prompted to start the fund after a conversation about doing more for Black-owned restaurants. He said it really resonated with him spiritually.

“I just realized Black restaurants need help and God has given me a voice and my voice is used for those whose voices cannot be heard,” he said.

Joyce said after posting videos of him eating food, a friend told him it was his calling. He started tagging the restaurants in photos, but wasn’t really getting recognition on social media. He said he met the young woman who created Rockford Eats and they talked. “She showed me how to formalize it and her last words to me were, ‘you should create a platform just for food.’”

Joyce said he was hesitant at first, but eventually decided to start the platform from scratch. He said the goal of Black People Eats was to help people locate where Black restaurants are and what to eat when you get to these restaurants.

He said he wanted to be the “go-to guy for Black restaurants” where he could use his camera to tell people what he was tasting and experiencing. During his first time trying it, he wanted “raw” and “real reactions” that were unedited.

Joyce said the response from people about the site has been great. He said in the beginning, he had to prove his worth as a 25-year old asking to highlight restaurants. He said he had two moments when he knew people were receptive to the content. One was when a restaurant owner called and told him that people came into the restaurants after seeing Joyce’s Black People Eats. “That makes me grateful because our job, our mission is to connect communities to Black-owned food and beverage companies,” he said, adding “Our goal is to highlight Black restaurants [and] to bring them exposure. It doesn’t matter if this company never gives me the praise, accolades or a pat on the back,” he said. “At the end of the day, if it’s helping Black restaurants, that’s the ‘why’ of our business,” he said.

Once Joyce and his team review the applications from the restaurants, on Juneteenth, Black People Eats will announce the recipients of the funds.

For more information about Black People Eats, visit www.blackpeopleeats.com.

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