CHICAGO (CBS) — August is National Black Business Month, and a Chicago cafe on the West Side is hoping that out-of-towners coming to town for the DNC will support black-owned businesses while they’re in town.
Momentum Coffee helps with this mission.
“If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be this one.”
Maytana Aldana, co-owner of Sweetest Redemption, talks about the sweet potato cake roll because it’s one of her favorite foods. Her partner, Tracey Moore, was once her teacher.
“Tracey was literally there to witness my entire progress and development,” Aldana said.
“It’s just really special that we’ve worked together now after she graduated. She was on scholarship. We worked together for a while at Fenger and then worked so well together that we thought we should open a store. Look at us now. We’re doing business,” said Tracey Moore, co-owner of Sweetest Redemption.
Their store is located at Momentum Coffee near Laramie and Harrison and is black-owned.
Nikki Bravo and her husband Tracy Powell own Momentum Coffee and are advocating and raising awareness for the rights of black business owners in the Chicago area during National Black Business Month.
“It’s so important for Momentum Coffee in particular to ensure we provide access and equity in the grocery store,” Bravo said.
With the DNC just days away, Momentum Coffee is located in BUILD, a youth community center in Austin, and has five other locations throughout the city, so they’re hoping people from outside will support the Black-owned businesses as well.
“Black-owned businesses are the heart of our Chicago. We want people to really take the opportunity to experience the different tastes and flavors of Chicago while they’re here,” Bravo said.
Momentum Coffee and BUILD launched a program to support emerging companies earlier this year. It’s called BUILD Momentum Food Incubator.
The program helps business owners who want to sell food or beverages organize their business and connect with consumers.
“As a black-owned business, we can build businesses, but we want to be able to build for longevity. We want sustainable businesses. We want businesses that have a legacy that can continue,” Bravo said.
