August is Black Business Month, a time to celebrate the great black businesses in the Greater Boston area. Black Business Month was created in 2004 by engineering entrepreneur Frederick E. Jordan and John William Templeton, president and chief executive of eAccess Corp. — a scholarly publishing company. The duo calls on “local government officials, community leaders and venture capitalists to focus their efforts on creating a more welcoming environment in which black businesses can grow,” according to Black Enterprise. Visit and support your favorite black businesses this month and beyond. Here are nine recommendations to get you started.
Also check out Black-Owned Bos., a business services and consulting agency dedicated to “highlighting and promoting Black-owned businesses, places, spaces and people that are moving the culture forward.” You can find many more Black-owned small businesses in the Greater Boston area in their directory, from jewelry and apparel to accounting and tax services.
702 Washington St., Norwood
Emerald City Plant Shop is a plant nursery in Norwood that combines lush foliage and a vibrant community. It’s also the first Black-owned plant shop in New England. “Our mission is to create a vibrant and inclusive space that goes beyond just a plant shop,” the company’s website states. “We are a community gathering place where plant lovers, artists, and creatives come together to learn, grow, and connect through workshops, community projects, and shared experiences.” WBUR’s Arielle Gray covered the business in 2021 when founder Quontay Turner opened Emerald City Plant Shop during the pandemic. Turner’s appreciation for plants was sparked when her grandmother gave her cuttings of her spider and pathos plants, Gray writes. The shop’s assortment ranges from tropical plants to foliage that requires minimal care for all types of plant owners. Turner also wanted the store to be a community gathering place for people of color, so in addition to hosting events, the store can be booked for private functions of up to 45 people. Turner stopped by WBUR’s The Common last year to share tips on plant care and more. Listen to the episode here.
57 Warren St., Roxbury
If you’re an avid reader and appreciate local bookstores, stop by Frugal Bookstore in Roxbury — the first black-owned bookstore in the city. The store, which began as a corner store inside Frugal Furniture in Roxbury, is owned by Leonard and Clarrissa Egerton. Leonard told WBUR’s Gray that owner Bob Romanow hired him to help out with the small section of books by predominantly black authors. That corner store became Multicultural Book World, a store that aims to sell books by diverse authors to nearby schools. Then Frugal Bookstore opened in 2008 and was purchased by Leonard Egerton. The store says its mission is to promote literacy among all ages. Frugal Bookstore offers books by authors of color for young readers, chapter books, cultural storybooks for children, fiction, biographies and memoirs, nonfiction, poetry, and business and leadership collections. It also holds in-person author events.
1212 Broadway, Somerville
Couple Fatuma and Francois Tuyishime own Yego Coffee in Somerville. Yego means “yes” in Kinyarwanda, the native language in Rwanda. Francois writes on their website that the word “is a symbol of positivity and affirmation. The positivity that allowed us to overcome the darkness we lived through in 1994 during the genocide against the Tutsi.” Francois’ father worked on coffee farms and inspired him to build the business. The cafe imports coffee beans from his family farm in Rwanda. When the company was founded in 2023, it wasn’t just about making great coffee; it was also about building a community with customers. Yego offers classic coffee options, a selection of teas, hot chocolate, masala chai lattes, matcha lattes, and pastries. The company was also recently featured in the Boston Globe’s Best Cafes for 2024 list.
1755 Center St., West Roxbury
Carlene O’Garro started Delectable Desires as a home-based cake business. It has since grown into a wholesale business that supplies cafes in Boston and 40 Whole Foods stores across New England. She started baking with her mother on Sundays at age 4 and fell in love with baking. O’Garro was accepted to Suffolk University Law School in 2005, but changed her plans and attended the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 2006. Delectable Desires was born the following year.
114 South St., Jamaica Plain
Have a young child and want to introduce them to culturally diverse cuisine at a young age? Tracy Skelly founded The Tot Café in Jamaica Plain for that purpose. She had her first child in 2018 and couldn’t find baby food with flavors from the African diaspora, like papaya and collard greens. She developed her own nutrient-dense baby food and opened The Tot Café so other parents could introduce their children to those flavors. Her creations also include hidden vegetables for a balanced meal. The cafe’s menu includes dishes like a mini Southern-style cornbread for breakfast, cauliflower-crust pizza with tomato-broccoli sauce for lunch, and unicorn yogurt (Greek yogurt, dragon fruit with fruit puree, crumbles) for a snack. The Tot Café offers a selection of fruit and vegetable smoothies, coffee, and tea under the adult beverages section. The menu changes seasonally to incorporate fresh produce into meals. In addition to food, the cafe is also a place to learn and play with books, games and toys in a cute play area with artfully framed animal heads on the wall.
60 Seaport Blvd., Boston
Grace by Nia’s slogan is “Where Soul Meets Harbor.” Roxbury native Nia Grace opened the supper club in May 2023 with an upscale, modern twist and owns two other locations, Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen and The Underground Cafe. The menu features delicious takes on classic Southern cuisine like bourbon peach spare ribs, carrot cake chicken and waffles, and Cajun jambalaya. The restaurant hosts an artist showcase called “Let It Flow” every Wednesday, where singers, poets, writers, and musicians showcase their work—the restaurant’s house band, The Mastadonis Project, is on hand to accompany the artists. There are also live jazz, soul, and R&B performances Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings, and Saturday afternoon during brunch. WBUR’s Darryl C. Murphy and Frannie Monahan visited the restaurant on an episode of The Common and spoke with Grace about the energy and impact the restaurant has had on the community one month after opening.
192 Oxford St., Lynn and 210 Pleasant St., Malden
Soul City Yoga was founded in 2016 to fill a diversity gap in the boutique fitness space. At their Lynn and Malden locations, they offer memberships and studio visits for all skill levels. Soul City Yoga also prices its classes on a sliding scale to give people of different incomes the opportunity to attend the same classes. They offer a standard rate ($24 per class), a continuing rate ($20 per class), and a community rate ($16 per class). In addition to yoga, they also offer indoor rowing classes for a light cardio workout. Their website states that in 2020, only 13.75% of rowers were people of color, so they are working with the North Shore Maritime Center to increase that number.
166 Main Street, Essex
We Dream in Colour sells striking yet delicate jewellery and hairpins with natural, vintage and celestial inspiration from a shop in Essex. Jade Gedeon started her jewellery line in 2002 and her sister Mika joined her in 2011. Pieces are handmade by an all-female team in her Salem studio. Jade’s designs are inspired by her time spent in the US, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, Denmark and Australia. The brand’s website states that they use “reused materials and eco-friendly practices” in the production process. We Dream in Colour’s Bambou earrings were also worn by actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish in a photoshoot for Cosmopolitan magazine.
140 Wood Rd., Braintree
If you love clean-burning candles, check out Lumière René Candle Company in Braintree. They offer handmade candles made with coconut soy wax and phthalate-free fragrance and essential oils. CEO Katelynne Bazile founded the company in honor of her grandfather. “His unwavering optimism and the warmth of his spirit left a lasting impression on me,” she writes on the company’s website. “He taught me that even in the darkest of times, a single candle can light a room and chase away the shadows of uncertainty. That lesson became the foundation upon which Lumière René was built.” Each candle comes with a special music playlist to complement the aroma, such as Garden Kisses—a scent with neroli and chrysanthemum notes. Candles cost $32.
