Black Restaurant Week celebrates 20 local restaurants in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia is one of three cities celebrating Black Restaurant Week that goes from March 6 through March 12. The other cities are Memphis and Birmingham that are also celebrating black-owned restaurants this week.

There are 20 black-owned restaurants in Richmond that are involved in the celebration. The owners are all African-American men and women. The restaurants serve different types of food. Feel free to dine at any one of them during the week.

Popular restaurants

Mama J’s Kitchen in Jackson Ward, Southern Kitchen in Shockoe Bottom, Charles’ Kitchen in Henrico, and Croaker’s Spot on the Southside are preparing for bigger crowds this week to cater to regular customers and new ones as well.

While these restaurants are small, they have a wide selection of dishes on their menu that Richmond residents love.

Mama J's Kitchen has a full menu of good food that includes pork chops, catfish, mac and cheese, collard greens, and candied yams. The restaurant is always busy, and usually there is a long wait for a table. However, the food is so good that it is worth the wait. People who have eaten there once said they would return again and again.

Southern Kitchen offers customers the finest southern food in Richmond along with the best southern hospitality in the city. The owner says the restaurant mixes southern eating with class.

Charles, of Charles’ Kitchen, said he has plenty of Caribbean food to serve.

To celebrate Black Restaurant Week he is offering two specials. His luncheon menu includes fish and chips, or seasoned and lightly fried kingfish with yucca fries and his signature mango slaw. His dinner special is a seafood stew filled with scallops, red snapper, shrimp and more. Charles is so confident that people will love his food that he says if they come in once, they will be hooked.

Croaker's Spot is usually very busy every day of the week because the word is out about the delicious meals the restaurant serves. The extensive menu includes fried chicken and fish that comes with peppers and onions in a delicious secret sauce. All meals come with a huge piece of homemade cornbread.

List of all 20 restaurants

The entire list of all 20 Richmond Black Restaurant Week participants are listed on Twitter.