There’s something decidedly retro about celebrating Black history exclusivelyin February, especially in a county as diverse as Palm Beach County. Surely there are reasons to celebrate Black history and support Black-owned businesses throughout the year.
In that spirit, we offer our running list of Black-owned restaurants in the county. We’ll continue to update it as the dining landscape evolves. We hope this list will prove handy.
Barbecue pitmaster Derrick McCray's meat-smoking talents are well regarded beyond Palm Beach County. He's been catering NFL-sanctioned Super Bowl events since 2007. A longtime roadside pitmaster, McCray is the owner of McCray's Backyard Bar-B-Q in Mangonia Park, which and Riviera Beach. The Mangonia Park location, which opened in the summer of 2019, boasts drive-through and takeout windows.
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Owner Sirgae Jewell brought this soulful neighborhood pizzeria to Northwood Village last September. He partnered with popular local chef Andrew Castardi to work his pizza magic in the Sirgae’s kitchen, where he makes fresh mozzarella and a selection of hand-tossed pies, panini, subs, sliders, full entrees and other options.
Hospitality veteran Michael Johnson and business partner Jerome Byrd, a retired firefighter who opened the county’s first Zaxby’s, brought this Southern-inspired restaurant and open-air cigar lounge to Northwood Road last September. The spacious restaurant/bar has become a chill spot for dinner, Sunday brunch, happy hour and special events like spoken-word nights. The menu ranges from small bites (wings, sliders) to heftier plates (shredded oxtail and “creamy cheese” grits, Southern fried chicken and red-velvet waffles, pecan-praline salmon and more).
In 2019, longtime restaurant owner Sharon Bedasee created a welcoming spot in downtown West Palm Beach, where her kitchen celebrates a range of Caribbean flavors, everything from Jamaican jerk and curries to West Indian roti to Puerto Rican mofongo. Fiwe’s menu lists plenty of vegetarian options. And on the weekends, a Caribbean brunch is served.
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Open since 2019, this Haitian restaurant serves an array of home-y soups and daily specials. Owner Jephtee Bien-Aime posts tempting food photos and cooking videos on the restaurant’s Instagram page (@flavors_island). This is how we know she serves free pasta gratinee (Haitian mac and cheese) every Monday, fritay (fritters) platters on Fridays and Saturdays, and bouillon (Haitian soup) every Saturday. And the place bottles its own kremas (Haitian spiked nog), too.
This Jamaican restaurant concept grew out of a popular jerk-chicken truck a couple of years ago. Jerk is still the heart of the menu, but owner, hospitality veteran Craig McKenzie, offers a range of other options and specials, including steamed fish, curry conch, brown stew chicken and oxtail. (The free-standing building formerly housed Bay Bay’s Chicken and Waffles.)
This family-owned barbecue spot just north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard is a local favorite. Off Tha Bone owner Daniel Spann offers a mix of smoky barbecue, Southern and soul food, all in heaping portions.
Palm Beach, Florida
Chef Trinnette Morris has grown her catering operation to include a downtown West Palm breakfast eatery (7:30 to 11:30 a.m.), serving everything from fish and grits to French toast, to a newish takeout spot in Pleasant City offering occasional specials (check the @TrindyGourmet Facebook page to find those). And she has launched a “grazing board” service called Grazed, offering a range of meat/cheese/condiment spreads. Morris also offers cooking classes and coaching for new restaurant or food-business owners.
This newish café serves Blue Mountain-grown coffee and other Jamaican delicacies on Clematis Street. The menu inspiration comes from owner Allison Boettcher's Jamaican homeland. She hails from St. Andrew Parish, which includes a stretch of the majestic mountain range that grows some of the world's best coffee.
Local baker Jamal Lake, who creates eye-catching cakes and other treats at his downtown West Palm bakery, gained national attention when he appeared on Food Network's “Halloween Baking Championship” in 2018. Since then, he has doubled-down on his cake business and cooking classes.
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Welcome to downtown Lake Worth Beach’s spot for roti and doubles. This months-old Trinidadian takeout shop is the creation of Chef Wendy Tilkaran and her wife/business partner Evita Thomas. The menu pays tribute to Trinidad’s street-food favorites and cultural diversity in bites like doubles (small stuffed and fried flatbreads), saltfish buljol (salted cod salad), roti (soft grilled flatbreads filled with curried meats and veggies), geera pork (cumin-seasoned bites) and Trini corn soup (Chef Wendy’s specialty). She offers a variety of vegan options, fried dough sweets, aromatic sorrel juice, peanut milk punch, and house-bottled condiments.
• To order, call 561-473-3710 or click on app/website chunkay.net, which also lists the menu. Pickup location is 2402 N. Dixie Hwy, Suite 1, Lake Worth Beach. You can email Tilkaran and Thomas at hello@chunkay.net.
• The Chunkay team is also at the Lake Worth Beach Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1 S. Ocean Blvd. (Old Bridge Park)
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Local photographer Jordan Marseille was about 15 years old when his family opened Alberte’s Haitian Restaurant in 2006. He owns and operates the place now, but he proudly serves his mom Alberta’s authentic cooking. The restaurant is a popular takeout spot, serving a range of Haitian comfort dishes like legumes (hearty vegetable stew), Haitian griot (marinated, fried pork) and spaghetti al' Haitienne (spicy Haitian spaghetti).
What began as pitmaster Troy Davis’ roadside barbecue stand in Boynton Beach grew into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2017. Two years ago, Davis’ son, Anthony Barber, added a Boca Raton location. He now operates the family business. Recently, he has expanded the business to include a small ‘cue spinoff in West Palm Beach.
When Rahein and Patricia Jones opened this Delray Beach spot in 2013, they were new vegans, the very poster kids for their new concept. Seeking a healthy, new lifestyle after years of meaty indulgences, they adopted a vegan diet almost overnight. They created a menu that's both delicious and healthy -- in fact, their vegan burgers have won local competitions. Although Patricia returned to a full-time career in health care, the Jones family keeps the vegan-food business running. That includes the small Delray restaurant and its spinoff food truck, TNV, a drive-through concept parked in suburban Lake Worth.
Palm Beach County, Fl
• In suburban Lake Worth, TNV food truck is at 7001 Lantana Rd., between Jog and Hagen Ranch roads, 561-542-2787. (Look for the “TNV DRIVE THRU” sign outside the farm gate.)
This months-old restaurant began as a modest rib-stand in a church lot more than a decade ago. Bill and Pauline Ceasar, the couple behind that original roadside stand, opened the brick-and-mortar version of Ceasar’s Famous Ribs in August 2020. The specialty: smoked, jerk-seasoned spare ribs.
Serving Jamaican specialties like curry goat, brown stew chicken, ackee and saltfish and more, this lunch and dinner spot keeps it authentic just off Delray's main drag. Just glance at the handwritten menu on the wall for the daily specials. The small restaurant is owner Ivet “Sweet” Henry’s homage to the foods and flavors of her homeland. Sweet’s has been a popular stop on the local Taste History Culinary Tour.
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This cozy, family-owned restaurant has been serving home-spun Guayanese and Caribbean dishes in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove for more than 15 years. There’s nice outdoor seating along the front of the restaurant.
This small restaurant is Chef Greg Romulus' dream turned reality, a place where he could turn out all his favorite Haitian specialties. He opened the mostly takeout restaurant in the summer of 2018. Want a peek? Romulus features his daily specials on Le Bistro's Facebook page (@LeBistro20).
Pitmaster and caterer Cleveland Stubbs will bring his unique style of barbecue to the Village Commons plaza soon. He describes his approach as a mix of Texas, Memphis and Carolinas style with a good dash of Caribbean flavors. The island spice is a nod to Stubbs’ Bahamian heritage. In addition to smoked Prime beef brisket, his menu offers everything from hickory smoked whole rotisserie chicken, Southern fried chicken in a box, waffles combos with your choice of meat, plus Southern and Caribbean sides (like collard greens, peas and rice and Caribbean-style mac and cheese) and desserts (like banana pudding and sweet potato pie).
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Owner Lojo Washington used to run a soul food takeout window at the building that now houses Queen of Sheeba, a restaurant that pays homage to her Ethiopian culture. The transition from American soul to Ethiopian home-cooking took some getting used to in the restaurant's Historic Northwest District location, where locals clamored for her former menu. But Washington not only won them over, one dish at a time, she grew her customer base to earn regional acclaim. The restaurant closed temporarily due to coronavirus measures and road construction along its street, but there are plans to reopen it. According to the restaurant's Instagram page, that date will be announced “once we have a better idea.”Plan your next tropical escape to Palm Beach County. From small beach towns tucked into the natural beauty of the coast to the bustle of seaside shopping districts, the 39 municipalities that make up The Palm Beaches have a vacation vibe for everyone. With legendary golf courses, historical sights, outdoor malls and a year-round lineup of festivals, The Palm Beaches can host the perfect getaway for any group of travelers.
With Restaurant Month
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