Black-Owned Block

by Camila Acosta, Sports Editor

The month of February is Black History month, a month of African-American cultural exploration and appreciation. However, the support toward black-owned businesses and the black community should not be confined to just one month, but all year. Below is a guide of a few black-owned businesses within Orange County.

Georgia's Restaurant

Serves soul food, with two locations: the Anaheim Packing District and Long Beach.

Georgia Shoemaker is known to go table-to-table greeting guests. The proud owner of this restaurant achieved her dream at 76 years old and continues to share her family recipes with her customers.

image Courtesy of GEORGIAS RESTAURANT

Protein Lab

Offers shakes, smoothies, superfood bowls, and grab & go bites, with two locations: Brea and Buena Park. Jayna and Arlainio Chambliss opened their first location in Buena Park after Iris and Gerard Rivera started theirs in Brea. When faced with the chance to partner, they fell in love with the concept of food that centered around a healthy lifestyle.

Image courtesy of PROTEIN LAB

Munchies Diner (Vegan)

A Vegan Diner offering burgers, sandwiches, specialty fries, burritos, wraps, salads, and milkshakes. Located in Santa Ana.

Image courtesy of MUNCHIES DINER

Aosa Coffee

Espresso, coffee, tea, acai bowls, vegan pastries along with a variety of toasts. Located in Huntington Beach.

What began as a fabrication shop to help their artist friends share their work and visions became a coffee shop with the intent to foster a safe and sacred space to elevate people.

Image Courtesy of Aosa Coffee

Naughty Panda (Vegan)

Serving non-GMO whole foods and vegan sushi with two locations: Santa Ana and Pasadena.

Image Courtesy of the NAUGHTY PANDA

Cloud 9 Bakers

Gluten-free, Dairy free, Non-GMO, Soy free bakery. Located in San Juan Capistrano. A family owned business. A change in their lifestyle to eating only organic foods, shifted their perspective on food and inspired them to want to offer customers the freshest, healthiest organic and gluten free products.

Image Courtesy of CLOUD 9 BAKERS

Beale’s Texas BBQ

Slow smoked meats and all the fixings. Located in Huntington Beach. Beale is a Santa Ana naitive, who enjoyed cooking as a hobby and later mastered his skills with Bill Cannon, the president of Texas BBQ. He opened his first restaurant in 2015, but is now the proud owner of Beale’s Texas BBQ. Focusing on quality, all ingredients are fresh and prime meats are the only kind selected.

Image Courtesy of BEALE'S TEXAS BBQ

Fork in the Road Catering

Chef curated meals, offering catering along with meal delivery. Located in Costa Mesa. Kyle and Marissa Powers took a giant step back in 2007 and set out to make their passion into their life's work. Kyle is the executive chef while Marissa manages the front office, together making a great team to ensure that everything results in perfection.

Image Courtesy of FORK IN THE ROAD CATERING