Much more than places to eat, Pennsylvania’s Black-owned restaurants strengthen local communities and celebrate Black food traditions.
August is Black Business Month, dedicated to celebrating and supporting Black-owned businesses across the country. It’s the perfect time to head to local Black-owned restaurants in Pennsylvania (as if you needed an excuse). These businesses bring both economic and cultural value to our communities while preserving Black foodways, such as rich soul food traditions and African and Caribbean cuisines.
We’ve put together a list of 13 of our favorite Black-owned restaurants across the commonwealth, from juice bars and bakeries to casual cafes and sit-down eateries. Visit a few this August, and you might just find a restaurant where you’ll become a regular.
Black-owned restaurants to visit in Western Pennsylvania
ShadoBeni – Pittsburgh
For years, you could only get ShadoBeni’s vegan, Trinidadian eats at area farmers markets in Pittsburgh, until chef Ulric Joseph opened the brick-and-mortar restaurant in Pittsburgh’s North Side in 2022. ShadoBeni is most Pittsburghers’ first introduction to the cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean island with a mix of cultural influences reflected in its food, which features a mix of African, Indian, Chinese, European, and Creole flavors. Visitors to the restaurant might try doubles (a street food consisting of curried chickpeas on fried flatbreads), pineapple empanadas, fried plantains, or the refreshing, ruby red drink called sorrel.
1:11 Juice Bar – Pittsburgh
1:11 Juice Bar is a Black- and Korean-owned juice bar in Pittsburgh serving up smoothies, sandwiches, and several delicious flavors of cold-pressed juice. The juice bar’s physical location is in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood, but the shop’s tent and colorful juice bottles are also a common sight at area farmers markets and festivals. Our favorite flavor is “liquid gold”—a juice true to its name and featuring pear, turmeric, ginger, lime, and apple.
Black Beauty Bar & Grill – Pittsburgh
Black Beauty Bar & Grill is a restaurant in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District that’s been serving the neighborhood for more than 50 years. The original owner, Roberta “Ms. Bert” Brassell, opened Black Beauty Lounge in 1972 as a community gathering space, and today the tradition continues with Ms. Bert, her children, and grandchildren in the renovated and renamed Black Beauty Bar & Grill. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a full bar menu.
Pineapple Eddie Southern Bistro – Erie
Tucked in northwestern Pennsylvania’s Erie, the popular Pineapple Eddie Southern Bistro offers a unique menu of Caribbean and Southern fusion cuisine crafted by chef Jean Paul, who was born in Haiti and raised in the United States. Guests can choose among favorites like shrimp and grits, jerk chicken, baked mac and cheese, griot (a Haitian fried pork dish), and fried chicken in a brown sugar bourbon sauce.
Black-owned restaurants to visit in Eastern Philadelphia
Honeysuckle – Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Honeysuckle describes itself as “an Afro-centric experience” dedicated to Black culinary traditions, and indeed, the restaurant’s rotating tasting menu—available via both omnivore and vegetarian tracks—is always a reflection of the foods of the African diaspora. The upscale restaurant was born from Honeysuckle Provisions, a popular grocery store and cafe with the same mission to celebrate Black foodways.
Items on the tasting menu might include creole spiced scallops, a take on pork and beans, or the Senegalese dish yassa (prepared either with the traditional meat or with mushrooms). An à la carte menu, available at the bar, offers an opportunity to taste some of the restaurant’s flavors without committing to the entire tasting menu.
Down North Pizza – Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Down North Pizza is a special Black-owned restaurant that not only serves incredible slices of thick and inventive Detroit-style pizza, but also intentionally employs workers who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Every order supports a mission of fair employment opportunities, whether diners are grabbing signature pies with beef or turkey pepperoni or vegan options featuring fried cauliflower.
Doro Bet – Philadelphia
Doro Bet is an Ethiopian restaurant with a focus on fried chicken battered in gluten-free teff flour and seasoned with either lemon turmeric or spicy berbere flavors. Owned by the Ali family behind other Philly favorites including Alif Brew and Salam Cafe, the halal restaurant also serves chicken shawarma, Ethiopian chicken stew, and vegan options such as fried mushrooms and falafel.
Kilimandjaro Restaurant – Philadelphia
Located in Philadelphia’s University City, Kilimandjaro Restaurant is a popular eatery bringing the flavors of West Africa to the city. The casual spot, decorated with Senegalese artwork, offers a homey vibe alongside dishes such as thieboudiene, an entree of fish and rice that’s the national dish of Senegal, and thiere, which features West African millet couscous. Be sure not to miss the fresh ginger juice.
Mia & Maddie’s Bakery – Easton
Mia & Maddie’s Bakery creates a wide variety of popular sweet treats, including cookies, cakes, and other scratch-baked goods you can find at the bakery’s Easton location. Owner Eileen Newman is the doctor-turned-baker behind the chocolate chip cookie voted the Lehigh Valley’s best. If you can’t make it to the Easton storefront, the bakery ships nationwide, so you can get boxes of unique cookie creations—think cookies made with sweet cereal or a cookie-brownie combo—delivered right to your door.
The Bayou – Bethlehem
The Bayou serves up Louisiana cooking in the Lehigh Valley, with menu items from both Cajun and Creole traditions. Pennsylvanians can try a po’ boy (that’s Louisiana’s version of a hoagie) as well as Southern dishes like cornbread, fried green tomatoes, and buttermilk fried chicken. The mac and cheese, served with various toppings like pulled pork or brisket, is a particular diner favorite, while the bar menu also draws guests.
Chef Von & Mom – Scranton
The powerful duo behind Chef Von & Mom—Ryan Von Smith and the woman behind his love of cooking, his mother Francine Smith—together offer flavorful comfort food to diners of Scranton. The restaurant serves creative dishes like a peanut butter bacon cheeseburger and cheesesteak pierogies as well as satisfying versions of classics including wraps, wings, and pulled pork sandwiches.
Black-owned restaurants to visit in Central Pennsylvania
Coda Rouge – Harrisburg
Harrisburg’s Coda Rouge is a fine-dining restaurant that brings international flavors to breakfast and brunch. The name—combining Italian and French to mean “Red Tails”—pays homage to the Tuskegee Airmen, Black military pilots who were nicknamed the Red Tails because of the red-painted tails of their planes. The restaurant’s inventive menu includes options like Southern crab cake benedict, a Japanese-inspired omelet, smoked salmon latkes, and a breakfast-style cheeseburger.
Outside, a large mural depicts a group of Tuskegee Airmen, including owner Jameson Christopher’s grandfather.
Skillet2Plate Soul Bistro – York
Family-owned restaurant Skillet2Plate Soul Bistro is a York dining destination for fans of classic soul food. The bistro serves meals such as fried whiting, crab cakes, cheesesteaks, catfish, and “soul bowls” filled with vegetables and rice. And for an extra burst of flavor, you can add the restaurant’s sweet and tangy “Buss’n Sauce.”
“When you support a Black-owned business, you’re not supporting a multimillionaire CEO, like you’re literally supporting small families and small business and everyday people just going to work,” owner Lauren Days told Local 21 News in 2020. Days was discussing the impact of the pandemic at the time, but her words about supporting local businesses are still relevant today.
