August is Black Business Month—a great time to support local Black-owned restaurants serving everything from soul food to dishes from the Somali Peninsula.
There’s no shortage of Black-owned food businesses in Utah. Some have been around for close to 20 years (Joe’s Cafe); others are relatively new (Creole & Sliders). The flavors run the spectrum from centuries-old African dishes to foodways of the diaspora, including the contemporary American South.
Here’s a small sampling, with a focus on brick-and-mortar restaurants. If you’re looking for caterers, food trucks, or food companies (like Mama Africa’s Pili Pili Sauce) check out the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce Directory, which curates a list of Black businesses around the state.
Oh, and one last thing: If you don’t manage to visit all of these local restaurants during August for Black Business Month, we suggest you continue to check them out in September, October, November, December …
1 .Creole & Sliders Cafe
2285 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Hours: Fri. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Finding authentic Louisiana food in Utah isn’t easy. Creole & Sliders, which moved into Old Cuss Coffee’s former space in South Salt Lake last year, is the real deal. With the Mardi Gras-themed decor, you could almost forget you’re in Utah … until you see the Runnin’ Utes memorabilia.
Opened by former University of Utah football player Frank Henry and his wife, Jovanna, the menu incorporates traditional Louisiana dishes like jambalaya and fried shrimp po-boys with delectable barbecue sandwiches. For Sunday dinners, it also serves traditional Southern dishes like oxtail stew.
Open two days a week, Creole & Sliders’ menu changes (because it’s all from scratch); call or check C&S’s Instagram to see what’s on deck.
2. 11Hauz
1241 Center Dr., Park City, UT 84098
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m., Tues. 3 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
Park City is a long way from Mount Salem, Jamaica, where chef Sheron Grant grew up—but even when it’s snowing outside, Park City seems a little closer to the Caribbean thanks to Grant’s from-scratch, authentic Jamaican food.
Opened in early 2018, the family-owned 11Hauz serves dishes handed down to chef Grant by her grandmother Florence Harding, as well as recipes developed specifically for the restaurant. You’ll find jerk wings smothered in chutney, Jamaican-style curry dishes, Florence’s signature mac ‘n’ cheese, and items like jerk tofu, which combine the contemporary with the traditional.
11 Hauz also offers its own private label jerk and hot sauces, which you can order online.
3. Horn of Africa Bistro
1320 S. Swaner Road, Salt Lake City, UT, 84104
Hours: Mon.–Sun. 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; closed Wed.
Tucked inside an unassuming little strip mall in Glendale, Horn of Africa serves the traditional foods of the Somali Peninsula, a cuisine bearing a very specific set of influences, including Indian, Arabic, and Italian. One dish that brings all those cultures together is (for example) rice and spaghetti with goat.
Owner Raghe Harbi, who grew up in Somalia, brings that dish to Utah, along with other offerings from the region, including chapatis with lamb, sambusas, chicken and rice, and kati kati. There’s also a Philly cheesesteak sandwich that’s incredibly popular.
If you’re not familiar with Somali cuisine, here’s a term to know before you go: basbaas cagaar, or Somali green chile sauce, which adds heat, kick, and spice.
4. Kafé Mamai
49 E. Gallivan Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Hours: Mon.–Sat, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., closed Sunday
Chef Abudujannah Soud named Kafé Mamai in honor of his grandma, who taught him to cook. Originally from Lamu, Chef Soud started with a food truck and eventually made the leap to a brick-and-mortar space alongside the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake.
Though chef Soud grew up in Africa, his menu is a fusion of African continental and Caribbean island flavors. You’ll find Jamaican jerk dishes, Kenyan lentil stew, harissa lamb skewers, and a Swahili potato dish, Viyazi vya Kukanga, which pairs an airy, crisp batter and rich, dense potatoes and a harissa-like chile sauce.
5. LES BBQ
12059 S State St. #80, Draper, UT 84020
Hours: Tues.–Sun., 11 a.m.–8 p.m., closed Mon.
Texan Les Rhodes is renowned for his Southern barbecue … and not just in Utah.
Before becoming a full-time restaurateur in 2019, Rhodes cooked out of a barrel smoker at his son’s flag football games. After his oxtails went viral on social media, he quit his job and accepted his national title as “Oxtail King.”
His food can be ordered online and delivered anywhere in the country, but Utahns are lucky enough to be able to visit Rhodes’ Draper restaurant in-person every day but Monday to order items like oxtail burgers, spare ribs, dirty rice, brisket, potato salad, and banana pudding.
6. Oromian
1522 S. State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Hours: Mon.–Thu., 4 p.m.–9 p.m., Fri & Sat, 12 p.m.–9 p.m., closed Sun.
Another Utah restaurant offering an authentic taste of East Africa, Oromian is located on Salt Lake City’s State Street, in what was formerly a down-at-the-heels pawn shop. Owner Rundassa Eshete rehabbed the building into a gorgeous space that instantly stands out on the block with its distinctive chrome sign.
The restaurant is named for Eshete’s roots as one of the Oromo people, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, and many of the dishes on the menu are listed by their Oromian names. Eating communally is traditional in East Africa, so shared platters are popular here. Oromian also serves traditionally prepared Ethiopian coffee and shai, an East African black tea with spices similar to chai.
7. Parfé Diem
2040 S. 1000 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Hours: Mon.–Sun., 11 a.m.–11 p.m.
With its play on “Carpe Diem,” its pastel outdoor benches and fun logo, and its delicious and inventive desserts, Parfé Diem puts the sugar in Sugarhouse.
Owner Parker Barbee is an example of how to do one thing exceptionally well—in this case, banana pudding, a classic Southern dessert. Everything about chef Barbee’s puddings are different, from the texture (light and airy, not heavy and gloopy) to the flavors (e.g. Purple Daze, flavored with ube and white chocolate pretzels). He’s even created new confections, like the OMG Gold Bar, which is whipped pudding sandwiched between two slices of gooey butter cake.
Barbee makes all of his vanilla and chocolate wafer cookies in-house, offers gluten-free desserts, and is open seven days a week until 11 p.m.
8. Sauce Boss Southern Kitchen
877 E. 12300 S., #203, Draper, UT 84020
Hours: Tue.–Thu., 4 p.m.–8 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 12 p.m.–3 p.m. & 5 p.m.–9 p.m., closed Sun. & Mon.
Chef Julius Thompson’s inventive take on soul food attracts long lines and sometimes, the national media—Sauce Boss was featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” in 2022. It’s also been given best-of laurels by the local media.
Chef Thompson set out to put his own stamp on traditional Southern dishes like fried green tomatoes, shrimp ‘n’ grits, fried chicken, mac ‘n’ cheese, and collard greens, rewriting family recipes so that they translated seamlessly to the restaurant kitchen.
He’s also the only Utah restaurateur to branch out to become a prolific author; he’s now published an autobiography as well as a series of children’s books.
